Battle for Terra
by Macross-Green
Summary: The sequel to two series- 'Illogical' and the conclusion to the 'Terra' trilogy. Takes place after MML2's events. Finally, it's been updated!
1. Foreword by the Authors

bftprol.html -Battle for Terra- 

The Elder War   
  
  
  
  
  


By Macrossgrn & QuickCheetah   
  
  
  
  
  


Foreword by Macrossgrn: 

I really hadn't expected the success that came with some of my fanfics. Return to Terra and Rescue on Terra were my first real breakthroughs when it came to writing fan fiction. I borrowed concepts from many people (most notable the writer known as CP), and I found success with it. I attribute this to my long-time standing as a Mega Man fan- I've been a fan since Mega Man 2. When I learned of anime, I was hooked (that was during my Battletech days which, coincidentally, was about the same time I created my first descriptive short story). After learning of Robotech, I became a complete Anime fanatic or would that be Otaku? Anyway, I was forced to watch the Mega Man cartoons when I could (my favorites were always the episode where Mega Man X came to the past, and the episode that showed Mega Man's beginnings). I knew that the X series could be so much better for an anime movie. 

That was when I heard of a 3D Mega Man game. First code-named Dash, then Neo, then Nova, and then finally Legends (so sue me, I've probably forgotten one or two others), this series had me interested. Id only thought about such a game before. Mega Man in a 3D world, able to interact with the scenery and other people. I was 18 at the time, and had just moved to Utah. This game had me hooked as soon as I got it. The scenery, the town (Free rides on the back of a truck! Yes!), and most of all, the characters All these drew me to the game. Two years later, I'd bought MML2. I was only disappointed in one regard- Mega Man's voice. Ever since MM8, I'd hated Mega Man's voice. At least in Legends, he sounded like a young boy. Now, he sounds like Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon?! Sheesh! Of course, the Misadventures of Tron Bonne (MoTB) had come between the two MML games, and I was impressed. I'd tried niche games before Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout (how I wish I kept that game now hindsight is 20:20, no?), Thousand Arms, and many others. However, Tron Bonne was the best niche game I've ever played. Period. Bar none. 

Flash-forward to the end of the year 2000. Working in Taco Bell in Utah, they began to short me hours slowly. Around this time, I found CP's Monster Rancher Fan Fiction Archive, and then Fanfiction.net. Now, other than the Mega Man series, I am also a big Monster Rancher fan. I began writing fiction for Monster Rancher (A New Player was my very first series). Then, I switched over to Mega Man Legends series. I began with the tentatively titled First Dig series to begin with (which I have since switched the name to The New Diggers (TND) series), and then I came up with the major breakthrough. Sure, I'd done a few mediocre fanfics everyone does at some point, right? Well, I thought this one was just one of those mediocre ones. Boy, was I ever surprised. The begging, the pleading the constant e-mails and threats on message boards All for a sequel to this one story? 

Back to Terra. This single fanfic seemed to put me on the map in the Mega Man community. At least, for those who know of Mega Man Legends. Taking place after the events of MML2, I tried to keep the atmosphere of the games without sacrificing anything. I could only have hoped to succeed, having never done anything of this caliber before. Absolutely no new fan-made characters, which I am fond of using, were used in that fic. Instead, I focused on the main characters of the games: Mega Man Trigger (whom I had re-named Rock Volnutt, because it sounds better than to have people call him Mega Man so much), Tron Bonne (the girl with a crush on Rock and yet, fights him with every turn), and Roll Caskett (the mechanical genius who helps/develops/creates weapons and items for Mega Man). 

The response was simply amazing. I, who had never taken a reading class, and hated English classes big time, had created something that people actually enjoyed reading. Liz, the maintainer of DASH 2000, gave me a great review (that was before she became unable to access the Internet much and Liz, if you read this, use Juno!). Others loved it as well. I don't know why *glances over his shoulder, and the whip cracks as he continues typing* Anyway. Heh! 

I got so much support from the people who read the fic that it got me thinking. I originally hadn't planned a sequel. I wanted to see other people write a sequel on their own. That never happened instead, I had people begging and clawing at me (in message boards and in e-mails o.O;) for a sequel. Finally, I gave in. I wrote up Rescue on Terra, based about 5 seconds after the events of the ending of Back to Terra. I knew I couldn't capture the charm of the first completely once again That was why I didn't want to make a sequel. After I heard from others how good it was, I knew it would be impossible to create a sequel that would live up to the original. Just take a look at so many sequels to original movies- most never equal the originals, let alone surpasses them. There are a few exceptions, of course, but they are rare. 

But, I digress (that means, I'm just muttering now). I left pretty much no tie-ins for a sequel with Rescue on Terra. However, there had been one, tiny, insignificant (or so I thought) tie-in that I had decided to neglect. The Servitors, Yuna and Sera's companions/guardians who were destroyed in MML2 were the only tie-ins that I had left. Geetz and Gaatz, or whatever you'd like to call them (Jiji and Gaga, perhaps). Perhaps it was unavoidable, but the tie-in has been addressed. Guess what? You're not going to believe this one! Get ready for round three! 

Miss QuickCheetah has brought me back from my semi-retirement from the Mega Man Legends fanfics. She E-mailed me with an awesome idea I couldn't refuse it. It could be so great as long as it is done correctly. QuickCheetah has written a series called Illogical, dealing almost exclusively with Sera and Jiji's interaction during the very beginning, as well as the very end, of the Mega Man Legends history. From the days of the Master, to the days of Mega Man Triggers saving the entire world, her series completely encompasses the Mega Man Legends world. And then, right after that was my series. The Terra fanfic series. These two fanfics single-handedly (or would that be double-handedly?) got me an instant following of readers or, that's what I'd like to think, anyway. 

Miss QuickCheetah E-mailed me with an amazing idea that I thought I'd never be asked to do. I'd thought about it before, but I dismissed it, doubting that it could easily be done but as I said before, it's time for round three. This time, however, there are 2 authors. QuickCheetah and I are collaborating on a brand new series, based on our two original ones. I hope you enjoy, and I must apologize for the length of my foreword. I simply wished to tell of the history behind my part of this fanfic. Please note that this is not written to try and make you people sorry for making me write Rescue on Terra. Instead, thank you for making me do that. I needed something to do anyway! :P   
  
  
  


Foreword by QuickCheetah 

Hello, dear readers. I am the fanfic author of many names. To those on FN. and the MML message board on DASH!, I was once known as 47 ("47" being the oft recurring number on Star Trek: The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager, some of my favorite TV shows). Now, I am known as "QuickCheetah". And to the rest of the people I've e-mailed, and everyone on AOL, I am Lioness470. (That's the trouble with all these handles. Basic intro takes an eternity.) I'm not going into as much detail as Macrossgrn did, but I will let you in on how I got to writing this fic. 

In a nutshell, my lifelong love of video games began when I was six, and my babysitter's son was playing with this new-fangled thing called a "NES". I was intrigued, so I begged my dad for one of my own, and never regretted it. My fascination with MegaMan started when my dad borrowed MegaMan 2 from a friend's son. I played once, and never put it down (so to speak). Ever since then, I have endeavored to collect every single MegaMan game Capcom popped out. Then along came Electronic Gaming Monthly and its announcement of a 3-D MegaMan game called MegaMan Neo, then MegaMan Nova. 

I was nearly doing backflips with excitement! At last, MegaMan would enter this brave new polygonal world, ensuring that he would stick around for years to come. I learned whatever I could about this new game, including that it would ultimately be called "MegaMan Legends", and managed to obtain it around the holidays. It quickly became my favorite series, and I went and bought "Misadventures of Tron Bonne" and "MegaMan Legends 2" as soon as they were released. I even celebrated the acquisition of the latter with chocolate covered candies. I'm telling you, these games just overflow with humor, charm, and sheer fun! But the best aspects, by and large was the characters. Unlike other video game characters, the ones in the Legends series actually had depth, and multiple facets to their personalities, something the gaming magazines/websites tend to forget to mention. 

It's the characters that make the Legends series so wonderful. As always, when I got into MegaMan Legends, I searched the web for MML fanfic. I was severely disappointed. There is very little Legends fanfic out there, and what's there is almost always about the same five or so characters (MegaMan, Roll, Tron, the Servbots, and [insert fan creation name here]). And it was almost always the same plot (the MegaMan/Roll/Tron love triangle, or some part thereof.) Now, don't get me wrong, I love those characters, and a love triangle is an excellent topic for a fic. But I am not a romance person, and, thanks to Mary Sue, I have a thing against fan-made characters. What really bothers me about this is that there are dozens of characters in the Legends series with their own backgrounds, and truckloads of potential fanfic plots. But no one seemed interested in exploiting them...except me. 

When I first heard about MegaMan Legends 2, I learned whatever I could about its characters and its plot. One of the characters that caught my attention was Sera's guardian, Jiji. I asked Liz of DASH!, about this new character, and she told me what she could about his personality, what he was like as a person, and that he could turn into a Reaverbot. I thought this last one was pretty cool, since I've always found shape shifters to be awesome. When I played MML2 for myself, I grew to like the character even more, and was disappointed when he was killed off. It was Jiji's final words-"This unit...cannot allow Mistress Sera to be harmed!"-that inspired me to write a fanfic about Sera's guardian. I thought to myself, "What if it were more than blind devotion in that final statement?" I went over to the computer, and began writing. Thus is the origin of my fic, "Illogical". 

During my forays into MML fanfic, I came across this one entitled, "Back to Terra". Intrigued, I went ahead and read it, and loved it! True, it had the Tron/MegaMan/Roll thing in it, but it was still, for the most part, an original idea. I was among those who begged Macrossgrn for a sequel, "Rescue on Terra", and again for a sequel to that. In the meantime, I submitted "Illogical" to Macrossgrn's site (and CP's). Macrossgrn responded saying that he wanted to combine the "Back to Terra" and "Illogical" universes. I was quite flattered, and agreed. 

As mentioned above, Macrossgrn had left a tiny little hook in "Rescue on Terra": the Servitors' reconstruction. At this time, I was planning on a sequel of sorts for "Illogical", and I eventually came up with the idea for a fic that would both tie the two series together, and provide a sequel for both. After some consideration, I asked Macrossgrn about it, and he agreed to it. So now, without further ado, Macrossgrn and QuickCheetah bring to you our joint effort at fanfic writing, hopefully to be the greatest work of writing that the MegaMan Legends fandom has seen. This fic is dedicated to Keiji Inafune, the creator of MegaMan and the MegaMan Legends series. Doomo arigato kudosai, Inafune-sama! (Thank you very much, Mr. Inafune!) 


	2. Invasion

Chapter 1: The Invasion  
  
"This is KTOX News! We interrupt the broadcast of Cutman's Cooking Hour to bring you news of an urgent development. We take you live to our broadcast ship flying near Calbania Island for more information." The man on the television screen said, and suddenly his image was shifted into a small box to the lower left part of the screen. The main screen was filled with an amazing sight. Calbania Island had almost been completely decimated as something unbelievable large lifted off from it. With wings that stretched as far as 100meters in length, and a main fuselage or body of well over 220meters, it resembled a hawk. However, this hawk was lifting off due not to its own wings, but rather, due to dozens of large pods underneath it, which burned dozens of bright red trails beneath the body as it ascended into the air. A gasp came from nearby, she noticed, and with a quick turn of her head, looked toward the green haired girl who was sitting beside her on the couch.  
  
"Our efforts have failed," the green-haired girl, who looked to be 15 at the most, but was actually thousands of years old, said softly. It was a comment directed toward no one in particular, but, was heard by everyone in the room . "Yuna, we must deal with this new threat. Obviously, the Purifiers in cyberspace have failed to prevent this. We must take them away from the computer and send them to engage the enemy."  
  
The tall, blonde haired woman simply nodded in agreement, standing up from the couch in response. The room had been refurbished to be more comfortable in the past few months. Ever since returning to Terra, the two ex-Mother units had to wait and see if their purifiers could possibly curb the reactivation of the Elder system. The Elder system, known only to a few beings upon the face of Terra, was an ancient system, one which had preceded the Master's system. Even Yuna and Sera had no idea of the potential lethality of the Elder system until now. "Agreed. We must prepare for this immediately. The lives of the humans are in jeopardy... and this time, even Mega Man Trigger may not be able to stop this alone."   
  
Yuna turned to Sera, and Sera nodded, a look of determination crossing her face as she stood up as well, then turned her head to look toward the door with a circular emblem, which had a spike rising above it, against the far wall, before looking back to me. Yuna simply nodded and grinned to her, to which Sera smiled, and we both ran toward the door. The television, however, was still on.  
  
"A large amount of airships have arrived to attack this ominous, huge reaverbot. Although the famous Sulphur-Bottom has not arrived, as it is halfway around the world now, many large and small airships have gathered to provide some form attack to try and destroy this thing." The voice of the newscaster said. On the screen, several ships could be seen with engines firing in powerful burns, taking them ever closer to the rising reaverbot. Suddenly, powerful, ranging blasts emerged from all over the large reaverbot, igniting the sunlit sky with small novas of reddish-orange intensity. The convoy of airships continued undauntedly forward, ready to brave the storm...  
  
  
----  
  
"Alright, listen up everyone! We need to get this ship up and running right now!" the loud, ever octave shifting voice went over the intercom. Only 6 beings- himself, his sister, and four of their helping robots manned the control room, which was identical to the original one of his previous airship, the Gesellchaft I, were in the room. While he sat on the command chair, the others sat ahead of him and to either side, evenly spaced out. The dark, purple-black haired girl in front of him turned her head and she grinned. "Soon we'll be back where we belong Teasel- the air! We'll be respectable pirates again!" They both laughed at that, and Teasel grinned. It wasn't a good feeling... being a pirate, and yet not having a ship that they could use as a base, which would allow them to fly as they wished, to wherever they wished to go. Mega Man Volnut, however, had destroyed the Gesellchaft I, after the Bonnes had gone after him for defeating them so many times.  
  
This new Gesellchaft, appropriately named the Gesellchaft II, slowly rose from its moorings at the Bonnes' secret base. On the western side of the Kalinka Island, the base was forced to go through horrendous snowstorms and blizzards almost the whole year. The Bonnes had been forced to relocate after Mega Man, Roll, and Sera had found their last one (which had been near Calbania Island). Though the beginning weeks were rough, Tron had been able to whip the Kobuns into shape (sometimes literally, which was something that Teasel tried not to think about), and soon enough, they had the base up and running. The area around the base would make people numb almost instantly, and it was with the help of one of Tron's inventions that they had managed to convert the cold energy of the ice around the base into a source of power for it. This also enabled them to re-energize the refractors that they had managed to salvage from their last battles against Reaverbots, as well as from against Mega Man.  
  
"At least we're not fighting Mega Man now." Tron spoke up, and the tall, green haired man had to crack a smile. "That's right, sis. Our target sure isn't that blue boy this time. We've got a much bigger fish to fry now." he said, and then he began to laugh a little. On the screen ahead of us was the television screen (on mute, of course) with the footage of the huge, flying reaverbot. "Can you imagine the size of the refractor that must be used to power that thing? We'll make millions!" Teasel laughed even more now, and Tron sighed as she realized that she would have to take over for Teasel now. "Okay, everyone, let's go!" she exclaimed, grinning slightly. The production of this craft had been halted after the relocation of the entire base after Mega Man had escaped last time. Fortunately though, this airship was larger, stronger, and much tougher than the last one... It would take more than Mega Man Trigger to destroy this one!  
  
"Roger!" and with that, the entire Bonne clan was lifted into the air thanks to their largest airship ever- the Gesellchaft II. Four buster gun turrets lined each side, bomb release hatches lined the bottom 'spine,' and two large, green particle blasters rounded out the weaponry as the ship flew toward the target which they could even see from there, as the snowstorm began to subside. "I wonder if Mega Man will be there..." Tron whispered to herself, even as she held the steering sticks in her hand. With a twist of both sticks, the Gesellchaft II turned slowly, setting the craft on a course directly toward the target.  
  
----  
  
"Roll! Can't we go any faster? We need to get there fast!" the young, dark haired kid exclaimed, even as he looked out the circular window of the equipment room. He already knew that Roll was making the engines go as fast as they could, but this kid was getting very impatient. Even as he pulled the blue Link Omega Armor on, he shivered at the cold metal feel, and then he sighed in relief. The armor had bonded to his skin now, which meant that whatever the armor took, he would also feel. This was exactly what bionic armor like this would do. Then, with a look around, he smiled, taking inventory of the weapons at his disposal. The Machine Buster, Vacuum arm, as well as the Missile launcher and his most powerful weapon, the Shining laser, were all in attendance. There were others, of course, but they were used only sparingly. Of the others, only the Ground Hunter was occasionally used.  
  
Sera and Yuna, back on Elysium, had warned him about the Elder system. Thanks to their efforts and the systems available on that space station, they had been able to delay the Elder System from breaking past the surface and the ruins. However, without the sophisticated systems that had been available on the station, it had been only a matter of time before the Elder system revived from its long slumber. No one knew exactly what the system was capable of, but Mega Man certainly hadn't expected anything like this. He'd never had to take on a Reaverbot the size of an entire island before! Ones as large as several buildings, no problem. He's done that before. A reaverbot that was the size of a Skyscraper? Well, the Gesellchaft I was close enough to that size. But an island? How could he possibly have the firepower to deal with it?  
  
"I don't... I'm gonna need some help." The blue armored boy told himself, even as he pulled on his boots. The shoes were equipped with his jet skates, which helped him to move much faster than he could walk or run. Dashing was the only way to get places, he thought, which made him smile a little. His boots were also equipped with the Jump springs he had gotten on Kattlelox Island. Roll had forgotten about them when selling off his equipment to raise enough money for the Flutter's new engine, and he had been able to keep them. "Glad she forgot about 'em," he muttered, and then he reached for the armor for his arms. First was his buster gun arm. Sliding it onto his left arm, he nodded as he felt the connecting sting on his whole arm, which indicated that the armor had bonded. With a start, he realized he hadn't even felt the leg armor bond, to which he smiled. It was becoming much easier to deal with the stings, to ignore them, he found. Finally, he slipped the upper right arm armor up and onto his arm. As the sting died away, he reached for the final piece to add- the lower arm armor. Sliding it on as well, he didn't notice the sting as he looked to his choices for weapons.  
  
"Ground Crawler." He decided, reaching for the strangely designed weapon. It had been the first to be fully upgraded, as it had been cheap (compared to other weapons) to upgrade. It did pack quite a bit of firepower, as well. And it rolled along the ground. Although they were in the air, if he could at least get onto the reaverbot, he could stand in place and let the GC weapon do its job. If not... "and Homing Missiles" he said to himself, pulling the missile launcher out and onto his back, slinging it into place. It was simple enough to change from weapon to weapon, he knew from experience. He didn't take the Shining laser because it was better that the enemy knew less about him, rather than learning of his most powerful abilities.  
  
"Rock, calm down. We'll be there in less than an 10 minutes. Relax!" she said "over the intercom, and the armor-clad youngster sighed softly. Roll didn't know anything about the Elder system. In fact the only people on Terra who did know anything about the Elder System was Mega Man Trigger himself, Yuna, and Data. Data, however, wasn't about to tell anybody about that, while Yuna and Sera had been locked up within the Forbidden Island's Reaverbot-factory facility for the past few months. Only Sera had known much of anything about the Elder System. After the Master's system was in place, the Elder System had been relegated to a back-up purpose in the scheme of things. The Master's system had been devised after experimentation had been done with the Elder system. In essence, the Elder system could be called a prototype compared to the recently deceased (finally) Master's system.   
  
This giant Elderbot... yes, that might be the best term for it. That thing must be destroyed. There may even be more than just that one. A flying battleship... and a dozen of such things could completely annihilate the carbons on this planet. It was something that Yuna had learned, as had Mega Man and even the Master himself had learned about life as well. The Betas on this planet, more commonly known as carbons, had been created by the Master's original human race. Although the carbons could not be completely called humans, as the original ones lived high above the planet, they experienced life much more fully. They felt pain, sorrow, and despair. The humans above would live in harmony: no diseases, no pain, no suffering, not even death... and yet, they had lost something that had been proven vital to their existence early on. Their humanity itself had been lost. The carbons on Terra, however, had claimed that humanity as their own... and they alone were able to feel true happiness compared to their human ancestors living above them in space.  
  
Mega Man shook his head, and looked above to the steel-gray ceiling of the Flutter. He couldn't allow such a world to happen at the cost of his friends and family. Especially not at the cost of which would be required to bring back the original humans. There was an old word that best described such attacks on an entire race of beings, he remembered. He whispered the word to himself, barely saying it loud enough for himself to hear it. "Genocide."  
  
Trigger nodded once, looking back in the direction of the control room. He wouldn't allow that to happen. The fact that he wasn't fully human didn't affect him at all. He was human enough, raised as one, fought as one... Trigger had a family. Roll and Gramps, though not his real family (he had no clue if he ever really did have a family), had become his family, ever since Barrel Caskett had found him in the Nino Island's ruins. "I will protect- everyone." He whispered to himself, and his mind raced as images of the many people he had met went through his mind. Roll, Barrel, Data, Teasel Bonne, Bomb Bonne, Tron Bonne were all there, along with the others whom he had saved in his travels. The entire island of Kattlelox had been saved due not to him, but by Data. Mega Man may have defeated Juno (who had also had the name Mega Man, strangely), but it had been Data, with his knowledge of the system, who had shut down the program that had been started.  
  
Trigger shook his head before smiling a little, thinking upon better times. The time spent on the way back to the planet had been great, he thought. All of us working together... and then, his thoughts returned to the Servitors. Gaga had been destroyed by Jiji, who then attacked me in an attempt to get the keys for Mistress Sera. I defeated Jiji, but then he had charged at me. Mega Man's eyes closed as I remembered the searing pain that had burned throughout my body for a brief time... and then, I had simply shut down. When I awoke again, I had memories of things I had no clue of before.  
  
The memory of rebelling against the systems of both Elysium and Terra. The memory of my first fight between the mother unit and myself designated as Sera, and the result. Then, of course, there had been the memory of the Master himself. He had given Mega Man the DNA coding of the original humans, the ones who had, at one time perhaps, had lived on the surface of Terra. The Master's Genetic code was still within him, he remembered. The cost of not denying the system would have been much greater than if he had gone along with it, he realized...the toll on the Betas of Terra would have been astronomical. 'It'll never happen,' he swore, and then he stepped to the door with the old fashioned steering wheel on it, and swung it open as he entered the control room of the Flutter.   
  
"Mega Man! Good, you're here now!" Roll said, looking back over her shoulder to look at her adopted brother. She had placed her entire faith on him as she had helped him decide in his debate of whether or not to destroy the system. Mega Man couldn't stand the thought of losing his sister- the only person who had placed so much faith in him, ever. While Roll was his sister, he couldn't help but to think of the other person who had been instrumental in his success. The past few years seemed like tests to prepare him for this, he thought to himself. First, it was the Main Gate on Kattlelox Island, not to mention the Bonnes themselves. Then, it had been the race for the keys only ¾ of a year ago. Fighting pirates and reaverbots had never been easy, but then again, what choice did he have at the time? Suddenly, Mega Man's thoughts were interrupted as Roll spoke again.  
  
"Mega Man, look at that! The airships... they're being knocked out like flies!" she said quietly, gazing through the window ahead of her to see the same nova-like explosions... this time, they were accompanied by pieces of metal and parts of airships. Several were falling toward the sea, trails of flame and smoke following them. Parachutes filled the sky as the crews of fallen airships abandoned their aircraft. One airship, an old, worn down one, didn't even have time to fall. It simply blew up and disintegrated in midair. Fortunately, the crew managed to get out, it looked like. Suddenly, a warning siren sounded throughout the Flutter, and Roll spun the wheel hard to the right, even as a huge green airship maneuvered its way right next to the Flutter. Both Mega Man and Roll turned to the side window to see the new ship, and they gasped in surprise at the emblem they saw there. "I, i, it's... the Bonnes!" Mega Man said, and he shook his head. Unknown to him, Roll had shaken her head at the same time, hardly believing this.  
  
Shots flew from the front of the skull-like protrusion of the green craft. They were green particle blasts, the two kids saw. Mega Man shivered slightly, knowing what it was like to be the recipient of such firepower. His hand absently rubbed his armor-clad chest as he remembered taking a blast or two of that sort of attack from the hands of the Marlwolf, or even from the original Gesellchaft. They packed quite a wallop... but what could the Bonnes hope to do against a Reaverbot that was size, even with their powerful particle blasters?  
  
----  
  
"What do you think, Tron? Think we got their attention?" Teasel asked, grinning at how close they had come to the Flutter without Mega Man or Roll seeming to notice. It had been fun, watching the Flutter from afar on a direct course toward the huge reaverbot. All the while, the Gesellchaft II had steadily drawn closer, thanks to its larger and more powerful engines. As soon as they had gotten within range with the particle blasters, they moved up very close to the Flutter, all thanks to Tron's flying. She had parked them just ahead of the Flutter and matched that airship's speed, to provide cover support for the weaponless craft. Suddenly, Tron turned to Teasel.  
  
"Teasel, we need to launch the Draches now! We'll be in range of the Reaverbot's shots soon, so we better launch now." She said, and then stood up. Teasel simply nodded to her, and then turned to the crew of four kobuns who were on the bridge. Tron grinned, and ran out of the room, heading back toward the launch bay, even as Teasel picked up the microphone calmly. However, his voice wasn't quite so calm. "This is Teasel Bonne to all Draches! Launch the attack! Launch the attack now! All gunners to your stations! This is not a drill, so everyone look lively. We're goin' after that Reaverbot's refractor, and we're gonna go in fast and hit hard! Let's do it!"  
  
All the while as Teasel rallied the troops, Tron ran down the hallway and all the way into the back room. Originally designed as only the torture room, she thought to herself... and she shook her head, even as her mind tried to bring back memories of her plans to deal with Mega Man herself within that room. Originally designed as the torture room, it had been converted into mecha bay for the mecha she had created. The Gustaff III was her newest achievement, other than the Gesellchaft II. The first two, having been destroyed, had made way to the creation of the third in her line of mecha. The mecha had been enhanced in pretty much every way. However, the mecha bay also contained another creation. The BlumeJet, created a month or two ago, had been used when Tron had finally captured Mega Man as they had arrived back on Terra. This jet, however, was of the same design, yet was also three times the size. Tron jumped onto the back of the craft and popped the cockpit hatch open, before disappearing within it.  
  
The hatch closing behind her, and then sealed with a slight whine, Tron grinned as she flipped several switches. "Refractor power on, shields up, raising the back hatch..." she said to herself, smiling as all the systems turned out to be okay. The entire back area of the mecha bay had just been locked into place, closing a blast barrier behind the BlumeJet. Then, with a gaping maw, the back end of the Gesellchaft II slowly opened to allow Tron to leave the ship. "This is Tron in the BlumeJet! Teasel, have the Draches launched yet?" she asked over the ship-to-ship communications frequency, which was shared only by the BlumeJet and the Gesellchaft II. "Tron, all the Draches have launched. You're clear to launch as well. Good luck, and be careful out there, sis." Teasel said, his voice remaining somewhat calm as he spoke. Tron smiled warmly at Teasel's directions. "You be careful too, big brother. I'm taking off now!" and with that, she punched the engines into full throttle with a foot on the pedal, and the Jet flew out of the Gesellchaft's large mecha bay.  
  
Flying over and then with a spin, Tron managed to bring her jet onto a course heading toward the Giant Reaverbot. The reaverbot slowly began to turn now, she saw, and then she could make out what seemed to be the thing's head. It was massive! It was almost the entire size of the Gesellchaft itself! "Wow... I'm impressed," was all Tron managed to say, before noticing several more explosions before her. Pressing a button, Tron's fighter began to pick up altitude as it made its way up and forward, even as her family's forces flew straight toward the large reaverbot. "This is Tron Bonne to all surviving airships! I suggest you get outta there. We're about to take this thing out. Tron out!" she exclaimed over the multi-ship frequency. Her thoughts were partly on the reaverbot ahead of her, yet some of her thoughts lingered upon her family, as well as her two enemies in the ship beside the Gesellchaft II- Mega Man and Roll.  
  
Tron's features etched into one of concentration, and as she held the controls in her hands, she flicked the weapon ports of the fighter open. Six total Vulcan cannons extended somewhat from the crafts' wings- three in each. Two more ports opened up beneath the fuselage, at which she smiled. "This is Tron to all Draches! Open the special weapon ports! Prepare to fire on my command!" she said to her family of kobuns below her as they all flew steadily onward. 'This one's for the Bonnes... and Mega Man!' she thought to herself, her eyes glued onto the massive reaverbot which now faced them. In the back of Tron's mind, she realized that for some reason, the Reaverbot hadn't fired its buster weapons at them yet for some reason, but she didn't register that fact. A few seconds ticked by before the targeting solution acquired itself, and then... "Fire!" 


	3. First Strike

Chapter 2: First Strike  
  
A large, purple-red blast was shot out just as Tron said that. The Draches fell out of formation, and Tron's BlumeJet itself had been knocked off course. The energy blast had emanated from the reaverbot, and had lanced straight towards the Gesellchaft II. The energy beam caught a glancing blow on the Gesellchaft's right stabilizer as Teasel managed to take it out of harms way. Of course, the wake itself from the energy blast had been enough to knock Roll and Mega Man back against the far wall in the Flutter, and both sat there for a second as they collected themselves. "Wow! I never knew something like that could be done!" Roll said, stumbling a little as she slowly started to stand up. Mega Man stood as well, helping Roll to her feet. His armor had absorbed most of the impact against the wall, and he was pretty much fine. Roll had lost her hat, and would have a few bruises, but would be otherwise fine as well.  
  
"So it wants to play that way, does it? Well then, let's fight back!" Roll exclaimed, moving to take her position at the controls once again. Mega Man walked over, and set an armored hand upon he shoulder gently. "Um... Roll? The Flutter isn't armed, remember?" he said softly, and he shook his head sadly. When Roll said nothing, he looked back to her with a curious look on his face. "Roll? Are you okay?" Mega Man asked, which was then followed by Roll's looking at him with a grin.   
  
"Well, Mega Man, I forgot to tell you, but the Flutter isn't defenseless anymore. When you went up to that space station... Elysium, right? Anyway, I installed your old Powered Buster on the Flutter. Not only do we have firepower, we have lots of it!" Roll said, and she laughed a little. Mega Man just stood there stunned- What was worse? Having thought that all his weapons had been sold by Roll, or the fact that she went and installed his most powerful weapon on this airship?  
  
"Roll, are you sure it'll work? I mean, it is about a year and a half old, you know." Rock asked, to which Roll shrugged. "Only one way to tell, right?" she said, to which Mega Man groaned and shook his head. "You mean... you mean, it's untested? Roll, don't tell me we're actually gonna... Ack!" Mega Man got knocked back into the far wall again as Roll kicked the engines to a higher pitch, bringing her ship ahead of the Gesellchaft II and began flying faster toward the Reaverbot. "We're going in, Mega Man. Hang on!"  
  
----  
  
Tron on the other hand, was a bit shaken up by that super-charged particle blast. Shaking her head and grinning, she noticed a sudden increase in speed from one of the airships behind her on her radar. She immediately recognized the signature. "What are they doing? That ship isn't armed. Only Mega Man fights anyway... what is Roll thinking?" she said to herself, shaking her head in disbelief. Checking on the status of her Draches, she sighed in relief as she saw that none of them had been lost, but all of them had been damaged severely. "All Draches, return to the Gesellchaft II! I'll go on ahead and attack this thing. Teasel, you get out of here! Try and get the Flutter out of here too, please." She said, and then turned off her communications as she looked back to the head of the flying reaverbot. It was huge, even at this distance.  
  
Tron shook her head again, and then managed to regain that determined look in her eyes. She grinned as she saw the targeting system reacquire her target, and she punched in the engines to go even faster than before. She was only several thousand meters away now, and was closing a few meters every second. Within a moment or two, she would be almost right in it. "Bonne Torpedoes away!" she cried, and she slammed her thumbs down onto the triggers. Two missile-like projectiles dropped out of the weapon ports under her fuselage, and then they picked up speed as their thrusters punched in. A second later, another pair was fired, and then another a second after those. Soon, a total of one dozen torpedoes slammed forward as Tron banked up and at an angle as she found herself almost on top of the Reaverbot.   
  
Unable to keep an eye on the torpedoes she'd fired now, she piloted the BlumeJet over the expansive landscape of the giant reaverbot. Amazingly, a bunch of Zakoben and turreted buster guns burst from dozens of ports on top of the reaverbot and started to attack the BlumeJet. Tron, managing to maneuver between buster gun attacks and the bombs that were launched by dozens of Zakoben, managed to press the index finger triggers as she wove her way through the storm of bombs and energy. The six Vulcan guns on her craft opened fire as she held down the triggers, and they slammed into the Zakoben, turrets, and the top hull of the craft. The BlumeJet shuddered wildly as a few buster gun shots hit, a few bombs exploded in midair near the jet, and from the explosions that took place ahead of her from her own firepower. Flying through a rather large explosion, she knew that she couldn't go much higher or faster before the craft would come apart at the seams, and she knew that she needed to get the heck outta there.  
  
Thinking fast, she slowed the craft down before starting to turn around. The BlumeJet rocked and shuddered as it took a lot of damage in the turn, mostly from the buster gun shots. With a swift kick to the front of the acceleration pedal, Tron made the adjustment from vulcan guns firing straight to making them point downwards. Climbing ever so slightly higher, she pushed down hard on the pedal, making her go as fast as possible, while still holding down the gun triggers. Raining destruction upon the top of the Reaverbot, Tron began to wonder when this thing would be behind her, instead of below her. "I hope I can make it out of this..."   
  
Suddenly, the damage done to the craft was too much, and Tron was forced to scramble out of the cockpit, and she jumped even as the BlumeJet crash-landed onto the back of the giant reaverbot, blasting a large hole into the thing. Tron blacked out as she hit the rock-hard armor of the reaverbot, and then could neither hear nor see anything.  
  
----  
  
"Tron? Tron! Come in Tron! Come back!" Teasel yelled hysterically, as Tron was lost from sight as she went in on an attack run against the huge Reaverbot. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen: his own little sister was actually flying on top of that thing! "Continue firing the particle blasters! Get the Turret guns online! We're going in! Provide cover fire for the Flutter!" he screamed, and then sat back in the chair suddenly. "I'm gonna have nightmares about this day for weeks now!" he muttered, holding a hand to his forehead and then shaking his head slowly. Little did he know of the relief help that was going to be coming up soon... and not from a source anyone would expect.  
  
The Gesellchaft II followed Tron in, firing the dual particle blasters straight at the Reaverbot. The torpedoes that Tron had launched had actually slammed straight into the large, red eye that had fired the purple-red particle beam. Unfortunately, they hadn't even made a dent in the Reaverbot's armor. And even now, as the Gesellchaft was much closer to the target, the particle blasts that it fired wasn't doing any noticeable damage. "At this rate, we'll run out of energy before we even scratch that things paint job!" Teasel muttered, and then quickly stood up as he noticed two more objects enter the radar screen. They were small, fast... and very strange. The signature registered as a human airship, but the energy readings were too strange to be one. "Just what are those things?" he asked himself, even as the two objects split from their formation, one converging with the Gesellchaft II, and the other with the Flutter.  
  
"Would someone please tell me what the heck is goin' on around here?" he screamed out in frustration. Though he enjoyed complex plans, he absolutely hated surprises... especially on days like these. "Can this day get any stranger?" he asked himself, and then he blinked as he noticed a red light flash on his command console. Pressing it, he listens for the expected high-pitched voice on the other end. Instead, he is surprised to hear another voice that he hadn't heard for quite a while now...  
  
----  
  
A large, loud thud was heard as something landed on the top deck of the Flutter. Both Roll and Mega Man looked up to the ceiling rather quickly, very surprised at the sound. It hadn't been an explosion or lethal impact- in fact, it almost sounded like... Three powerful taps were heard as they looked at the ceiling. "Um, I think someone wants in..." Roll said softly, to which Mega Man nodded in agreement. "Guess so. I'll go see... Huh?" as he said that, he turned to the ladder in the back of the room, only to look up as the hatch opened and a figure jumped on down. Mega Man hit the floor with a crash, glad that he had slipped his armor on earlier. At least he wouldn't be hurting too much by this, he thought, even as he looked over his shoulder. He winced as the figure stepped off of his prone body, and then he yelped in pain as yet another, figure dropped down onto him, and this one was much heavier than the first one. The hatch above was automatically closed, and then locked, as Roll pressed a button off to the side.  
  
"Jiji! Get off of Trigger. It is impolite to stand on top of your host." The green haired girl said, and almost immediately, the being that had been standing on Mega Man's back got off of him. With the weight gone, Rock slowly stood up, and then stepped back, gasping in surprise at the person he saw before him. The green-haired girl couldn't help but to giggle as she noticed the surprise in Mega Man's face. What she hadn't seen, however, was Jiji's reaction to the sound of his mistress giggling. He had gasped as well, and held a hand to his head, a little confused by the situation. "Sera? What are you doing here?" Roll asked, her voice a little high pitched, even as she managed to avoid a reddish-orange blast from the giant reaverbot ahead of them. She looked back for a moment and gasped, seeing the older-looking man that was there as well before returning to steering the Flutter again. Mega Man shook his head, even while looking at the Servitor in its human mode. 'Th- this... is impossible!' he thought silently, almost dreading this fact. This being had nearly killed him... and now... now, he was back!  
  
"Well, Yuna and I are here to help you carbons against the Elder System. That giant reaverbot isn't going to be stopped easily, you know. You carbons will need some help." Sera said simply, and she raised a tanned hand to Jiji. "This is why we rebuilt our Servitors. The fact that they are our Servitors made it simple to re-integrate their old memories with their new memory banks. We Mother units have a tie with our Servitors, which enables us to create back-up copies of our Servitors memories... however, the tie is only good at very limited ranges. I couldn't tell when Jiji was destroyed by you because I was onroute to Elysium." she said softly, and then closed her eyes as she breathed in slowly, then exhaled just as slowly. 'Not to mention, it is all done unconsciously,' she left unsaid. 'and that the files only become available when the Link is broken... only by range, or the destruction of the Servitor.' She thought, before opening her eyes to speak out loud once again. "Jiji and Gaga have been reconstructed so that we might fight alongside Trigger. Between the Servitors and Trigger, there has been no force strong enough to deal with them besides these three."  
  
Jiji simply nodded to this, keeping to himself mostly. Mega Man could only nod slightly, and smile, determining what it was that Jiji was thinking about. 'Most likely, it was thinking about the change in behavior that its mistress had undergone since I destroyed him,' Rock told himself, and he nodded slightly. "Sera, are there any others... any others like me?" Mega Man asked softly. To this, Jiji looked to him and answered for her. "Yes, there are, but they are in the process of being re-conditioned and updated at this time. It will take a minimum of 3 days, possibly more, before the Purifier units are brought online." Sera smiled, and nodded at that comment. "That's right. There are very few 1st class Purifier units such as yourself, Trigger. So, we have had to re-condition older Purifier models- mostly the 3rd and 4th class units, and upgrade them with new abilities. Like you, they are part organic... However, unlike you, however, they do not have your experiences on the surface of Terra. They have retained their original memories from several thousand years ago."  
  
Rock took this in with a nod, and he smiled a little. It was almost like having a real family... but they were not familiar to him. They never would be. Shaking his head a little, he looked back to Jiji with a curious look in his eyes. Sera saw this and grinned a little at Trigger. "Yuna and I reconstructed both Jiji and Gaga at the Reaverbot factory on Forbidden Island. It took a while because the factory wasn't suited for creating Servitor units. But, they were finally finished just last week." She explained, and Jiji nodded in agreement. "Trigger... I wish to apologize for my actions in my previous life," Jiji said. Even though the Servitor showed no remorse, either in his facial features, eyes, or voice, Mega Man knew that Jiji meant it. Trigger nodded in response, and grinned slightly. "I'm just glad we're fighting on the same side now." Mega Man said, and he hefted the Ground Crawler weapon onto his right arm. It slid back, and with a click, he knew that it was now grafted onto the armor. Gripping the handle within the weapon with his right hand, he stretched it out a little, all while keeping the safety on.  
  
Sera nodded to this, even as an explosion rocked the airship, which caused her to stagger toward the wall. Jiji, however, stepped behind his mistress, and caught her before she hit it. Mega Man smiled as those two shared a brief, warm glance at each other, and then looked back outside. "Mega Man, I'm bringing the Powered Buster online. If you're gonna go, then you better go now!" Roll exclaimed, even as her right thumb pushed the end of the steering wheel up, exposing a trigger on it. "Got it!" Mega Man exclaimed, and he turned to the ladder, and went up a few rungs before looking back down to Jiji and Sera. "Sera, you'd better stay onboard. Roll may need some help, despite what she may say. It'll be safer here, too." Rock said, to which Jiji nodded in agreement. "Trigger is correct, Mistress Sera. You would be safer here than with me. Please stay here until we deal with this Reaverbot."  
  
Sera nodded, and sighed a little bit before looking back up to them. "You two be careful... and Jiji, I don't want to lose you a second time. You had better be very careful, alright?" she said softly, smiling a little bit to both the Purifier and her Servitor unit. Mega Man nodded in agreement, and grinned. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Jiji comes back, Sera." Jiji also nodded, and smiled reassuringly to Sera. "Yes, mistress Sera." And with that, he and Mega Man ascended the ladder, soon finding themselves outside on the top deck of the Flutter.  
  
----  
  
"Teasel Bonne. This is Yuna. I am the one who helped Mega Man defeat the person who wanted to destroy everyone on this planet. I also have news regarding your sister. She has lost the aircraft she had been flying, and is now on the Reaverbot. I am taking the armor I have found in here. From what I have learned, she is good with machines, and can use this thing. Gaga and I will be attempting to destroy that Reaverbot. Do not try to stop us." The clear-voiced woman said. Despite her hair color, she was very intelligent, and had already come up with a plan to destroy the Reaverbot... unfortunately, with Tron on the Reaverbot in question, it complicated things immensely.  
  
"Listen here, Yuna, I don't take kindly to threats! But, since you say Tron's on that thing... Take the Gustaff III. She can help you guys when in that." Teasel's octave-changing voice said. In the control room, Teasel sighed softly. "Why that little... she must've come in through the mecha bay Tron used earlier!" he said to himself, and then he sighed. Suddenly, the airship was rocked violently, as the Gesellchaft was hit by several buster shots. "That's it! Come on everybody! Tron got shot down by that thing, and we aren't gonna let it get away with it! Full speed ahead! Dang the plasma blasts and that particle beam! Fire at will! The Bonnes don't lose to anybody! CHARGE!!! And somebody close the door!"  
  
----  
  
Yuna stood astride Gaga as the servitor took the green and white colored powered armor in its claws carefully. "I apologize, Mistress Yuna. This unit will have problems flying quickly with such a heavy load." Gaga explained, with a regretful sound in its voice. "That is alright, Gaga. We'll just go slowly then. We will need all the help we can get when we get to that reaverbot. Let us hope we can get to its center." Yuna replied, even as she felt the sudden lurch forward that the Gesellchaft II made. "It appears that this carbon's ship is going to fight with the reaverbot head to head." Gaga commented, even as Yuna hopped onto his platform-like back. Gaga then lifted off, his claws straining to keep aloft with the load it carried.  
  
"Yes, it does seem that way..." Yuna murmured, and then she looked towards the Flutter, which was not far away. She grinned as she noticed Jiji and Mega Man Trigger there, and with a shift of her weight to indicate where to go, she directed Gaga to fly over toward them. "This is Yuna to the Flutter. Roll, get out of here while you still can!" she exclaimed into the com-wrist band she wore on her arm. Yuna smiled as the Flutter visible maneuvered away, even as Mega Man jumped onto Jiji's back. The Servitor was now in its battle form, she saw. It was a golden version of her own Gaga, and it flew with quiet speed and agility as it flew towards her position.  
  
"Mistress Yuna, this unit gives you greetings on behalf of itself and Mistress Sera." The voice said as soon as they got close enough, and Mega Man grinned as he looked to Yuna, and then to Gaga. "Hello, Yuna." Mega Man said, even as he glanced toward the ominous reaverbot. "Mega Man Trigger, you'd better be careful with Jiji. I'd hate to see anything happen to either of you." Yuna said, winking to both of the units beside her Servitor. "Now, let's ascend: we have to go save Tron, and then defeat that thing. To do that, we have to get inside of it." Sera explained, even as both Servitors began to ascend in altitude, dodging the slow buster gunshots easily. Then, Mega Man looked behind him and to the left a little, and gasped in surprise. "The Gesellchaft..." he whispered to himself, even as he watched the exchanging attacks between the green ship and the reaverbot.  
  
The Gesellchaft loomed ever closer to the Reaverbot, firing everything it had at the target. The particle blasters, the turreted cannons, and even missiles and torpedoes were being fired, having very little, if any effect on the Reaverbot's shell. Conversely, the Reaverbot's own shots weren't doing much damage to the Gesellchaft II. 'Its armor was much stronger than the original Gesellchaft's,' Rock thought, as he watched the two crafts fire shots at each other. Slowly, the Reaverbot's large red eye began to flare into a brighter, darker color, turning the eye to a purple color. A large amount of energy began pooling in front of it, and he could see the Gesellchaft begin to decline in altitude slowly, to try and escape the attack. The purple-red beam was then unleashed, arcing directly toward the Gesellchaft II. The beam slammed full-bore into the ship's left engine, and a large amount of smoke and fire sprouted from the hit. The nose of the Gesellchaft point downward even more than before, as it began to fall from the sky. Mega Man sighed, and then held onto the spike on Jiji's head as the storm of buster gunfire started up again, most aiming toward him and Yuna.  
  
With a determined look, Mega Man looked back up toward the Reaverbot ahead of them. This was the first time he'd actually been scared of something like this- not since that dig before Kattelox Island, had he gazed at a Reaverbot with fear. The guardians of the ruins whom he'd destroyed before were nothing compared to this. They were child's play. Even the large, 3 or 5 story tall reaverbot he'd fought in the Saul-Kada City ruins hadn't scared him this much (it had, however, made him a little queasy when it restored its power by drinking lava). "Well now..." Mega Man said softly, gazing at the thing as he kept his hold on the spike on Jiji's head. "Here we go!" And with that, both Servitor units banked upward sharply, one carrying a somewhat large suit of armor after it. Both the occupants hung on for dear life, both with a look of determination as the Servitors charged up their own blasters. 


	4. 

Chapter 3: Rescue!  
  
Waking up in a small cell, she found herself surrounded by what seemed to be computer systems. Trying to move, Tron found this to be nearly impossible, as her arms and legs were completely covered by metal cuffs that extended from ankle to thigh. On her arms, the metal cuffs extended from wrist to shoulder, prohibiting her any movement from any limb. Even her neck was being restrained. Tron couldn't help but to shiver slightly at the feeling of the cold metal against her neck. She began to struggle wildly against the bonds for a moment, tying to find some weakness in them. Suddenly, the entire ship was jarred slightly, causing her to shake a little. "What was that?" she wondered aloud, whispering to herself. However, the sensors within the room picked up the noise, and a somewhat small blue robotic eye, attached to a mobile, retractable pole moved over toward her. A young male voice then spoke in an unusual language, one that the captive Tron couldn't understand. The blue eye seemed to take notice of this, and a soft whirring noise could be heard.  
  
After a few moments of whirring sounds filling the air, the robotic voice spoke up again finally. "Subject is Beta Carbon. Class C lifeform. Female. Awake and capable of processing. Elder system speech programs compensating for language changes." The voice went, to which Tron could only listen to. "What are you talking about? Let me out of here!" the purple-black haired girl exclaimed, struggling against the bonds slightly as if to emphasize her need to escape. "Struggling is futile. Beta Human lifeforms, now that the last Alpha Humans lifeforms have been lost, must be destroyed to enable recreation of Alpha Human lifeforms." The voice said once more, still utilizing the young man's style of speech.  
  
"Beta? Alpha? What the heck? Just let me outta here! Let me go now!" She yelled at the eye, to which the blue eye backed up a little. "Carbon exhibits will to live. Is highly agitated. Administer tranquilizer to allow for diagnostic of Beta Human to begin." And with that, a small needle attached to an extendable arm-like pole slid into the dim light, and Tron began to panic. "No, let me go! Keep that thing away from... me..." She yelled in pain as the needle pressed into her arm, and then she fainted. The arm with the needle slid away, as the computer registered that the state of the human was docile and under control. Not a single drop had been administered to Tron. "Begin diagnostic of Beta Human. Search for parameters dealing with most expedient way to eradicate the Betas." The voice said tonelessly... even as it was rocked by another explosion.  
  
Tron was having the nicest dream... and she smiled in her sleep, almost drooling at the dream which was playing out in her mind. She was in the Torture room with Mega Man, of course, and instead of the normal torturing, she was actually dancing with him. Slow circular movements took them both around the track. Though the traps weren't on, the room did seem kinda warm. Tron was resting her head on Rock's shoulder with her eyes closed, simply enjoying the warmth. There was also an emotion she was feeling, but couldn't quite explain it. She really liked Mega Man, and this dancing only made her feelings intensify. But then, Tron stepped out of Mega Man's arms, and she smiled wickedly as she pulled a surprise out from behind her- a long leather whip! Laughing maniacally, she snaps the whip toward Mega Man's armored hide, intent on torturing him as both began to run around the torture room. Back in reality, while sleeping, Tron had begun to drool a little at the thought, at which point she unconsciously wiped her mouth with a newly freed hand.  
  
----  
  
"Mistress Yuna, this unit has detected an entrance inside the reaverbot. It seems to have been caused by that Carbon's ship when it was destroyed." The white, grayish Servitor said, even as it blasted away with its forewing blasters. His counterpart, a golden Servitor beside him, did the same, even as its rider, a Purifier unit known as Mega Man Trigger, peppered the landscape of the top of the reaverbot with his own firepower. "Understood... take us in, Gaga. Take care of the edges of the hole, and let's destroy this thing." The blonde haired woman said, looking back and down to the cargo behind her that her Servitor was carrying. It was large and green... but it wasn't that large. It was simply heavy and sophisticated. 'It looked a lot like its pilot,' she thought, and wondered if it was really a suit of armor... or, perhaps, Digger armor, like what Trigger wore.  
  
Explosions engulfed the entire back of the reaverbot. Broken or destroyed Zakoben reaverbots and turreted buster guns were in flames, either completely destroyed or slowly losing power. They littered the landscape of the back of the reaverbot, causing it to look like a desert of destruction. Jiji burst forward at Rock's urging, using his own miniature particle blaster to fire away at a line of Zakoben reaverbots. That single blast caused a domino-like effect, which in turned destroyed the Zakoben that was next to the beginning one. With a dive, both the golden Servitor and the blue Purifier unit disappeared into an obvious, gaping hole, to which Gaga and Yuna also dove into a few seconds afterward. As Gaga dropped the Gustaff Mk. III, Yuna jumped off of his back and to the solid armor plating of the deck plating. Trigger had done the same, and was checking his weapons load on the two special weapons he had with him. Jiji and Gaga took up a defensive position on either side of them, to defend their current position.  
  
"Mega Man, we'll hold our ground here. You must go find Tron in this place. There are very few places that a human may be... so, head toward the center. Chances are, she'll be in the main medical room." Yuna said, even as she held up the wristband on her arm. It suddenly changed into a small energy weapon, complete with a palm handle and plasma muzzle above her wrist. "If you need help, just call. Jiji will be able to assist you if he can." She said, moving to stand on top of the rugged suit of power armor that was the Gustaff III. "Right." Mega Man said simply, turning to look around slowly... Deciding on the way toward the center, he nodded to himself, and then began to run off.  
  
The way to the door had been quiet and uneventful. No reaverbots or sentry-type guards at all. However, the passageway had been getting smaller... giving him much less room to maneuver or to fight in. 'Yuna wasn't kidding... these hallways are gonna be a pain to get through!' Rock thought to himself, and he sighed a little. With a push on a green crystal-like protrusion on the door, it opened quickly, and Mega Man passed through it carefully, watching the area around him.  
  
----  
  
"Roll, that ship is going down. Is there not anything we can do to help them?" Sera asked, looking out the window and toward the Gesellchaft II as it descended, trying to lock onto a course toward one of the islands that were nearby. 'The only island close enough for them to land at,' Roll figured, 'was Calbania itself...' but that had been mostly lost to the ocean now, especially since that large reaverbot had escaped into the air. 'That thing seems to be heading toward Nino Island!' Roll thought, even as she looked over to Sera. "There's nothing we can do to help them, Sera. The Bonnes have survived worse though, so I'm sure they'll be fine!" she answered, smiling brightly as she began to head toward Manda Island, and away from the buster gunfire which had been threatening the Flutter not long ago.  
  
The Flutter had been hit in several places by direct shots, Roll knew. She'd worked on this airship almost day and night when the new engine had been installed... It had enabled them to be able to get around the world much faster than before. Now, though, the engine sounded as if it was damaged. Though she couldn't see the rear of the Flutter, she imagined that it was trailing some smoke, as well as refractor exhaust. Her mind was brought back to the present as she shook her head, her thoughts returning to Rock, who was at this moment trying to save humankind once again. She couldn't believe that her own adopted brother wasn't actually human... and was, instead, a combination of machine and human. Oh, sure, it explained a few things- especially his ability to use different weapons at any time he got them, almost instinctively understanding them and how to use them. The bionic armor he'd had would seem to graft to his skin somehow, which made him able to take damage and pain and yet keep on going. Then there was Data... the little annoying monkey that for some reason in the past could only be understood by Mega Man. It had learned how to speak normally though, ever since it returned from Elysium over 6 months ago. How that happened, she had no idea, but the fact that he'd given her and Tron the technology needed to build space rockets was something that they really needed to have. She later had apologized to Data for telling him to be quiet back then, but Tron hadn't bothered.  
  
"Mega Man, I hope you're okay..." Roll said softly, closing her eyes a little as she steered her small airship in the air. Sera glanced at her, and she silently echoed Roll's sentiments, but her thoughts extended to Jiji instead. 'Come back alive, Jiji, I don't want to lose you once more...' she thought, and closed her eyes as she remembered the moment in which Jiji had been destroyed. It had been a moment after ramming into Trigger, she knew... The Servitor's death ram, followed by its refractor core overloading and then exploding, had nearly destroyed Trigger. Only through the quick intervention of Yuna and Data had he been able to survive. Sera, however, had been enroute to Elysium, and could only watch what had happened through her Servitor's eyes thanks to their near-telepathic memory link. The link had been destroyed when Jiji had been taken offline- destroyed by his own attack run. The last thing she could remember feeling from Jiji was immense satisfaction and warmth as he had been destroyed... Giving his life to protect her. She sighed softly, and then opened her eyes to look out the window again.  
  
----  
  
"Master Teasel, should we abandon ship?" the whining voice asked. The Command Bridge of the Gesellchaft II was filled with Servbots that were running around, almost screaming as they knew the ship was going down. Teasel, the eldest of the Bonne family, slowly stood up from the command chair. "Quiet, all of you! Initiate Emergency plan 3! This Gesellchaft is going to survive the fall here! We just need to get to Calbania Island! Now, make ready for a crash landing! Let's do it!"  
  
The heads of all the Kobuns in the command area turned, so that each and every one of them were looking at Teasel. Unknown to Teasel, each and every word of his commands had gone over the PA system. Each and every Kobun on the ship turned to face the command area, and collectively, uncannily, spoke at the same time. "ROGER!" all 41 Kobuns said simultaneously, causing the Gesellchaft II to shake and rattle for a moment before barely being able to level out again. Teasel, however, wasn't so lucky, as he fell to the floor plate, clutching his ears in pain. "My ears!" he cried, even as the Kobuns went about the Emergency Procedure #3.  
  
----  
  
Stirring slowly, Tron began to wake up within the confines of the small room. Instinctively, her hand wipes away the small amount of drool that had escaped her, unaware of the implications of just such an act. Her eyes slowly opening, she suddenly found herself wincing in pain as an intense light burned into her pupils. "Hey, cut it out! Turn off that light, will ya?" she exclaimed, closing her eyes as she managed to turn her head to the left. That simple movement caused her eyes to open again, and she tilted her head to look downwards. Her body was free of the restraints! The blue eye-like thing flared to life overhead as that same voice could be heard again. "Re-establish restraints on Female Beta. Prepare tranquilizer for another dose." It said in a commanding voice. The systems began to do their work, as the restraints slapped back into place. It was too late by then, however, as Tron had jumped off the examination 'table', and was high-tailing it toward the open hallway in the distance. "Beta carbon appears to be faster than first indications." The young-sounding voice said, even as the blue eye swiveled to watch Tron's rapidly fleeing form.  
  
Tron couldn't help but to run. She had no idea where in this giant reaverbot she was at, and she had no idea how any of her friends were. 'They... they could all be... gone..." she muttered to herself. Finding herself outside that chamber, the dark haired girl leans up against the wall as she takes deep breaths. Glancing around the place quickly, she could only hear machinery in the distance. "Just great..." she managed, taking a deep breath again. "I'm all alone and unarmed here." With a quick glance back the way she came, she took off down the corridor, unaware of where she might be headed, but with only one thing really on her mind- Escape!  
  
Her flight made her think of the time back on Ryship Island, where she'd piloted that little remote camera robot by remote control in order to go on Digs. She'd met several interesting people back then, she thought, as she continued along her way. Several diggers... including one that was rather clumsy, who seemed to have found a girlfriend while she and her Kobuns were digging for treasure in the mountains. "Now I know how the Kobuns felt..." she mumbled, and sighed a little as she found the corridor closing in on all sides as she continued to run. With less and less room to move around in, she realized, there wasn't much of a chance that she could dodge any of a reaverbot's attacks. Suddenly coming to a turn in the hallway, she quickly and silently peeked around the side... and then ducked back quickly as a bomb flew in her direction and bounced against the wall behind her. The bomb blew up immediately after hitting the ground, causing Tron to step back slowly. "Uh-oh..." she said, knowing that she couldn't go that way now. 'Then again, I can't go back, either.' She thought to herself, while trying to come up with a way to get past the Reaverbot.  
  
Brilliant flashes of reddish-orange heat and light flashed against the wall, dissipating almost instantly upon contact. However, the now destroyed carcass of a Zakoben slammed into the wall and blew apart from the hits. "What the? Who's there?" Tron demanded, hiding against the wall again to wait for the person or thing that had destroyed the Reaverbot to show him/her/itself to her. The figure rounded the corner, and collided with Tron. Both people were repelled from one another thanks to the action. Tron's mind blacked out from the pain in her shoulder, and she fell limp against the floor, not even realizing who it was that had saved her from the Reaverbot.  
  
----  
  
Rock had been fighting Reaverbots for the last few moments, almost non-stop. The Zakoben seemed to be pouring through the corridor like water would through a sewer. A very nasty type of water, that is. One that could shoot bombs at you. Fortunately, with the help of the handy Ground Crawler on his arm, his shots easily blew away the Zakoben and their bombs before either got close to him. However, some of the bombs detonate pretty close-by, and he had been hurt a little by shrapnel from the bombs and the shells of the detonating trash can-like reaverbots. When he finally found himself at the end of the corridor and having to turn, he went at it full tilt, running quickly just in case he met another reaverbot on the way. What he hadn't expected, however, was the person that he had slammed into on his way. Getting knocked into the wall behind him, Mega Man could only shake his head to clear it. Blinking once, he looked toward the person that he had hit, and he had to gasp.  
  
"Tron?" he gasped in surprise, getting up quickly to walk over to the fallen mechanical genius. She was out cold, he saw, and he shook his head as he leaned down to pick her up carefully. Setting her on his shoulder, Mega Man could tell the disadvantages he had now when facing reaverbots. He couldn't run as fast, and he couldn't risk blasting them with the Ground Crawler anymore. With a shrug, Mega Man crouched slightly as he waited for the hum to build up in his boots. It did, and the Jet skates hummed to life. Sounding for the most part like a buzz saw on the loose, Mega Man did an about face, and began to dash-skate back towards where Yuna, Gaga, and Jiji were waiting for him. He had a grin on his face as he carried Tron carefully, using her weight and his to shift his direction correctly, weaving in and out of corridors as he retraced his steps. This feeling of speed was the best he could do at this point... and what speed! He was flying past the Zakoben that had just entered the hallways through hidden ports in the walls, and they could only spin around to watch him leave their area of protection. Soon enough, however, he would find himself back at where he'd begun- a few hundred refractors (and several thousand zenny) richer than before, however, thanks to the now defunct Zakoben reaverbots that he had destroyed.  
  
A few moments later, he came upon the Servitors and Yuna. Yuna ran over to Mega Man as he gently set Tron down on the floor, and she kneeled by the girl, to take her pulse and to check on her health. A moment later, she smiled slightly, and looked back up to Mega Man. "Trigger, she's just in a little bit of shock. I'll wake her up..." she said, only to be cut off by Gaga suddenly. "Mistress Yuna and Purifier Trigger! This unit has detected a huge amount of energy being built up near the core of this elder reaverbot. I must suggest we escape from this area before it is too late." He said in his worrisome-sounding voice. Yuna stood up and nodded, and then looked to Tron. "Time to wake up, Ms. Bonne! We need your help!" she exclaimed gently, reaching to her to simply shake the sleeping girl's shoulders in an effort to wake her up, to which Tron began to respond. "Did you get the number of that bus?" she asked groggily, slowly sitting up while rubbing her eyes. She blinked a few times quickly as she glanced around, only to find Mega Man leaning in front of her, his hands on his knees as he smiled at Tron. "Hey there... are you alright?" he asked, standing up in front of her slowly.  
  
Tron's response was immediate, as she launched from her feet to hug Mega Man. Once again, he could feel his armor begin to buckle from the extreme pressure of her arms around his chest, causing him to gasp. "Mega Man! You came to save me!" she exclaimed, and then she stepped back, a thoughtful look on her face. "Why did you come to save me?" she asks, watching Mega Man. The Servitors had by now changed to their flight/attack modes. Yuna was already on top of Gaga, and Mega Man climbed aboard Jiji. Yuna was the one who spoke up next, however. "Tron, get into your armor. We need to get out of here, now!" she said, just before Gaga flew out the hole on the back of the reaverbot. Rock pointed to the Gustaff III close by and grinned. "This time, we're not fighting each other, Tron. We get to fight together!"  
  
----  
  
A few moments later, all five were on the back of the reaverbot. Wind rushed past them , causing Yuna's blonde hair to fly back as they looked toward the core of the craft. Suddenly, a massive series of explosions began to rock the reaverbot, causing the Gustaff III to stagger a bit as Tron fought to keep control over it. The entire deck of the reaverbot lowered a good meter or three as the entire corridor system below them was crushed under the weight. However, near the core, something... something very large emerged. Looking like a bird of some sort... an ancient bird of prey, most likely, it rose from the ashes of the destroyed level of the Elder Reaverbot. Painted completely red and silver, with a little black on its wings, it was easily 100ft in length. It had wings behind it, on its back, that gave it a wingspan of at least 300ft. It was blocking out the sun above them, which caused Tron, Yuna, and Rock to squint at the machine in order to see it. It had legs and arms like that of a humanoid robot, however. Its arms ended in mace-like objects, each of which seemed to contain some sort of weapon. The feet were actually a total of four talons, which looked to be sharp enough to easily rip almost anything to shreds.  
  
The single eye of the reaverbot lit up. It was on the head-like part of the reaverbot, and was rather small. However, when it glowed, it became a purple color. And then, energy began to accumulate around the eye, the force visible even to the five beings watching it. With a sharp cry, and a look to the sky, it fired the purple beam at all five of them. Gaga and Jiji, with their respective cargo of Yuna and Trigger, easily dodged it. The Gustaff III, piloted by Tron Bonne, however, just barely managed to dive out of the way. Inside the robot, Tron was grinning. "Well now... He's a big 'un, isn't he?" she drawled, picking herself up quickly to start running at the reaverbot. "Attack!" she yelled, leading the charge. To either side and at a higher altitude, Jiji and Gaga began to accumulate energy in their own particle blasters to send out at the offending reaverbot. Mega Man, however, switched his special weapons as best he could while holding onto Jiji's spike. Yuna simply looked on with determination as they quickly got closer to the humanoid, bird-like reaverbot.  
  
Two shots rang out at maximum range, to be followed seconds later by another pair of blasts and then another. The blasts, originating from Jiji and Gaga, sped toward the large reaverbot, hit the reaverbot, causing it to stall in place for but a second. The wind howled past the riders of the Servitors as they flew ever toward the Reaverbot. Now utilizing the Homing Missile launcher on his arm, Mega Man took careful aim, keeping his left arm on the spike on Jiji's back. Knowing he was out of range, thanks to the fact that the trigger won't pull on the weapon, he keeps his finger on the trigger anyway. When they reached his maximum range, it would fire automatically. Tron, however, was being careful to keep from falling. The Gustaff III, though powerful and maneuverable, was not designed for mid-air fights on the back of a giant reaverbot. With a simple motion, however, she loosed a total of four missiles from her armor, firing them off at the reaverbot. Slow at first while they acquired their target, the missiles began to speed off towards the giant reaverbot. Closing the gap between Tron and the reaverbot, the missiles slammed into the armored left leg of the reaverbot almost ineffectively.  
  
Yuna, however, was thinking of a way to stop this madness and the giant reaverbots. All while holding onto Gaga's back for dear life, her mind was racing, trying to come up with some sort of plan or memory of how to deal with this menace. Even though she was the one who know most about the Elder system, the reaverbots that were used by it had been deactivated long ago, and even her efforts to research the Ancient reaverbots had been in vain. 'It must be a simple slug-fest, then.' She thought to herself, closing her eyes. Sometimes, the easiest solution was the best... and then she grinned, coming up with an idea. Using her mental systems to relay the information to Gaga, he then translated the information into speech loud enough for both Jiji and Mega Man Trigger. "Master Trigger and Jiji! Try to destroy that reaverbot unit's thrusters. If you can, then it may fall and destroy the core of the giant reaverbot below!" he exclaimed, all while discharging another particle beam blast at the Reaverbot, which had just begun to slowly lift its wings back. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye it seemed, its wings swept forward quickly, causing a near shockwave of wind to blast at the five beings. Yuna and Mega Man were forced to hold onto the spikes on the backs of the reaverbots firmly with both hands as the wave washed over them, and the Servitors themselves were shaking and shuddering like crazy as the wind washed over, under, and through their systems.  
  
Tron fared better, though. She had been underneath the shockwave, and she reached the area where the Reaverbot had escaped from the back of the giant reaverbot beneath it. Grinning slightly, she turned her sights to the exposed systems there. Indeed, there was a large, cylindrical thing within the ship. It was the power core! What else could it be? And with that, she cocked the shoulder cannon on her right shoulder, and kneeled down carefully to take aim. With her right hand on the cannon, she pressed the firing button, which caused a beacon bomb to slam into the cylindrical mechanism below, imbedding itself there. Though there weren't any Kobuns around to help her out, it had a second purpose... and she curled up into a ball before unleashing another four missiles from her armor. Instead of aiming toward the reaverbot overhead, they twisted around and dove, straight down toward the red and yellow glowing cylinder mechanism below.  
  
At the same time, however, Jiji and Gaga were unleashing their particle blasts at the reaverbot just over Tron's Gustaff. The blasts slammed directly into the thing's chestplate, causing it to glow for a moment at the impact of the superheated blasts. Another pair of particle blasts immediately followed up those two super-heated blasts, and then those were followed by a fusillade of missiles. Though small, the missiles were on target, and they were almost as devastating in firepower as the energy blasts were. And there were many more missiles being fired on the reaverbot than particle blasts. Mega Man was firing away at the reaverbot now, finally having reached maximum range for his homing missiles to be effective. His helmet had been knocked off by the near-explosive force of the tornado-like winds that the reaverbot had sent their way, and now his unruly black hair danced in the wind as he, Yuna, and the Servitors dove in at the large reaverbot. Suddenly, a complete total of eight yellow, supercharged blasts emerged from the chest area of the reaverbot, peppering the skies like an anti-aircraft gun would. More blasts begin to pepper the area as well, to which the Servitors begin to evade with sudden dives and aerial acrobatics.  
  
Tron continued to do what she could against the Refractor core. Her missiles had impacted the thing, but had barely made a dent. Instead, she turned her plasma cannon onto the core now, and with a steady stream of firepower pouring from her left arm cannon, was relieved to see that the core was not indestructible. In fact, she could begin to see small cracks in the casing, causing refractor steam to be emitted from the cracks. "That ought to do it!" she exclaimed, grinning in satisfaction at her revenge on the system that had captured her earlier. Then, without her knowing, and without the others knowing, the Refractor steam that poured from the cracks began to intermingle with the flames of the flying reaverbot's thrusters. Tron looked up as she heard the roar of a fire take place, and she gasped as she saw the explosion. A mid-air explosion had occurred, and was still happening as she began to run away from the core quickly.  
  
From Mega Man, Yuna, Jiji and Gaga's points of view, it seemed almost as if the reaverbot had spontaneously combusted. Its entire body was covered with fire. The pepper blasts had stopped, leaving the Servitors, as well as Rock and Yuna, time to watch the proceedings. Mega Man noticed the Gustaff running away, and with a single glance back toward the now-falling bird-of-prey type reaverbot, began to urge Jiji to fly down to pick her up. "Jiji, Tron's gonna get caught by the explosions! We gotta go save her!" With a nod in agreement from Jiji, they dove down, even as the falling reaverbot slammed down and into the even larger flying reaverbot. The bird-like reaverbot exploded immediately, which set off numerous explosions within the giant reaverbot's refractor core. These explosions set off explosions that seemed to emanate from the core in rippling waves to new explosions that threatened to tear the elder, giant reaverbot apart. Reaching the edge of the giant reaverbot's back, Tron looked around quickly for somewhere to go. She'd recognized the danger earlier on. "Uh oh... not good." She said to herself, and then she sighed. She'd helped destroy this thing... but, there was nothing to help her now. With that, she gave a jump off of the reaverbot's back, and she closed her eyes as she prepared for the long drop to the ocean below.  
  
She opened her eyes as she felt a thud, and then could feel herself being lifted instead of falling. "What?!" she exclaimed in disbelief, and she opened the hatch on the back of the Gustaff III to see what the heck had happened. To her surprise (and relief), she found Jiji and Mega Man looking at her. "Tron, climb aboard! Jiji can't carry the Gustaff and two people at the same time! We'll drop it in the direction of Calbania, though, so we can get it later!" he yelled down, the rushing air making it impossible to otherwise talk to her. With an enthusiastic grin, she scrambled up the Gustaff's back, up Jiji's leg, and then onto Jiji's back with help from Rock. "Thanks! But this doesn't mean that I like you!" she exclaimed, grinning mischievously at Mega Man as she grabbed hold of the spike on Jiji's back as well. The both felt a shift of weight as Jiji dropped the Gustaff III in the general direction of Calbania Island... well, what was left of it, at least. Rock just shook his head and smiled at that, asking Jiji to turn around to watch the large reaverbot begin its descent to the ocean, flames and smoke spewing from all along its back and wings.  
  
"Wow... we did that?" Tron asked quietly, surprised at the amount of damage that they'd managed to inflict upon the thing after all. Mega Man simply nodded, and he looked upon the damage he had helped to inflict on the reaverbot. There was a sense of sadness in his eyes as he gazed upon his handiwork. Instead, he sighed softly, and then looked to his left, where Yuna and Gaga were hovering beside them now. "It's not over yet, Trigger! There's still lots to do! Are you up for it?" Yuna yelled over to him, smiling softly. Rock looked over to Yuna, and grinned slightly, before giving a slow nod in return. "Let's do it." He says quietly, unknowingly copying one of Teasel's favorite phrases.  
  



	5. Planning

As the fivesome headed back toward the Flutter, Tron turned her   
attention toward MegaMan's companions, starting with Yuna and Gaga.  
  
"Saaaay," she drawled, narrowing her eyes in recognition at them.   
"Aren't you the lady who attacked the Sulphur-Bottom a few years ago?   
During that press conference?"  
  
Yuna couldn't hear them over the wind, of course, but MegaMan answered   
for her, "Yeah, but they were only trying to protect us from Sera."  
  
By this time, Tron had glanced downward at their mode of   
transportation. It didn't take long to recognize the golden Reaverbot dragon as the   
one who had attacked the Sulphur-Bottom a second time, shooting the   
Bonnes down in the process. Needless to say, Tron was even less happy to   
see him.  
  
"This...this is the monster who tried to blow us up!" she shrieked.   
MegaMan hastily intervened to prevent her from doing something rash.  
  
"It's ok!" he said quickly. "He's on our side now!"  
  
But the young Digger's attempts were in vain. Tron kicked sharply at   
the Servitor's metal back, yelling, "How could you?! You worthless   
flying lizard! You stupid waste of scrap metal! I'll teach you to mess   
with the Bonnes!" while MegaMan tried desperately to calm the young   
Bonne girl down.   
  
Unfortunately, Tron's foot struck the weakened area where Jiji's   
stablizing rod joined his back. He cried out at the sudden burst of pain,   
banking sharply to the right, then straightening just before his   
passengers tumbled off.  
  
"Geez! Calm down, will you?" MegaMan grumbled in frustration as soon   
as his bearings were re-collected. "Look, we're almost there."  
  
Sure enough, the Flutter hovered just a few meters away. As soon as   
the Servitors landed on its deck and their respective passengers   
disembarked, Tron marched up to Jiji, and shouted angrily at him, her face less   
than an inch from his muzzle.  
  
"Look, I don't care whose side you're on now! You tried to kill my   
brothers! And me! I thought we were going to die! If we hadn't been able   
to get the engines running again, we could have killed! Ya hear that,   
murderer?!KILLED!"  
  
Tron's tirade, however, degenerated into astonished babble when the   
Reaverbot dragon transformed before her eyes into the male Ancient she   
and her brothers had gotten a glimpse of on the Sulphur-Bottom. Stunned   
speechless, she watched as the now-humanoid Servitor unit strode calmly   
over to where Roll and Sera had emerged from the portal from down   
below.  
  
"Welcome aboard, Tron," the former said, offering the most sincere   
smile she could manage. The Bonne girl, however, didn't seem to notice   
nor care. She had more important matters to worry about.  
  
"The Geselschaft!" Tron cried. "Where is it? It didn't crash, did   
it?"  
  
"We're afraid it did," said Yuna. "Last we heard, it was headed down   
over Calbania Isl..."  
  
"Then that's where we're headed!" Tron interrupted. She jogged to the   
hatch, yelling over her shoulder, "C'mon! We gotta make sure   
everyone's alright!" She descended the ladder, the others-including the two   
humanoid Servitors-close behind.  
  
***  
  
As soon as the Flutter docked safely on Calbania Island, Tron nearly   
broke the sound barrier jumping down the ladder and running toward the   
smoldering remains of the Geselschaft II.  
  
"TEASEL! TEASEL!!" she cried, her voice hoarse with dread. "BON!   
CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!"   
  
Just before Tron reached full-blown hysteria, the battered door on the   
side of the ship clattered open, and Teasel, Bon, and the Servbots all   
piled out.  
  
"Urghh," the eldest Bonne groaned, rubbing his bleeding forehead.   
"Hope someone got the license number of that speeding steamroller...Tron?"  
  
"Teasel?" his younger sister replied. Then, at the same time, they   
both cried out joyously, "You're alive!" before rushing forward and   
embracing each other warmly.   
  
"Babu!" Bon sighed happily, and enveloped his siblings in a hug of his   
own. The rest of the Flutter's occupants approached in time to catch   
the tail end of the display of family love.  
  
"Is everyone alright?," Yuna asked. "Did everyone make it out alive?"  
  
"Yeah," Teasel replied, "It looks like everyone made it out just..."  
  
He was interrupted by a loud FWOOM! and a flash of light. As everyone   
turned to look, the entire back end of the Geselschaft II burst into   
flame. A filmy-white mist of flame retardant drifted from the open door   
as fire-control systems came online inside with a soft hiss. Teasel's   
face shifted from astonished to anguished in an instant.  
  
"N-NOO! Not the Geselschaft II! Not again!" he moaned, staggering   
toward the burning ship. His hands flew to his head and proceeded to rip   
at his grayish hair.  
  
"Wasn't once bad enough?!" he shrieked. "After borrowing money from   
that sleazy lard bucket, and that whole deal with the Colossus, and that   
blue kid goes and blasts it to smitheereens!. That was enough bad luck   
for the rest of my life! Now! Now, after all that hard work trying to   
get money the honest way, some stupid Reaverbot goes and blows the   
second one sky high! I don't believe this! Of all the rotten luck!"   
Here, Teasel sank to his knees and started banging his head on the ground.   
"Of all the" (thud!) "rotten" (thud!) "stupid" (thud!) "miserable   
luck!" His voice trailed off to a near sob, and he buried his face in his   
arms, which he had folded on the ground.  
  
Gaga approached the dismayed carbon hesitantly.  
  
"Mister Bonne?" he said.  
  
"What?" Teasel's voice was muffled beneath his arms.  
  
"This unit believes the ship is still salvageable."  
  
A brief pause. Then, Teasel slowly lifted his head to look at Gaga.   
"What did you say?" he asked incredibly.  
  
"This unit believes the ship is still salvageable." Gaga repeated   
patiently.  
  
"You're sure?!"  
  
"Yes. Certainly."  
  
"He's right, Master Teasel" Servbot #14 announced, scurrying away from   
the wreckage of the Geselschaft II. "I looked it over, and I'm pretty   
sure it's repairable."  
  
The green-armored pirate's mood went from despairing to ecstatic in   
seconds.  
  
"Well then, let's get to work repairing it!" Teasel exclaimed, his old   
bravado returning. "Numbers 30 through 34! You guys build stuff,   
right? Get to work rebuilding the ship!"  
  
"Roooger!" the five Servbots chimed, then scurried into the ship. A   
few moments later, the clanging, whirring, and buzzing of repairs being   
made floated out from within.  
  
"We need to find a place to regroup," Yuna started, but a brilliant   
flash of light followed by a crashing roar, this time from the   
now-clouded-over sky, interrupted yet again.  
  
"And I don't think this is a very good location," Terra's Mother unit   
sighed as the first drops of rain began to plunge from the ashen   
heavens.  
  
"We can all meet aboard the Flutter...," Roll suggested, glancing   
toward MegaMan...then toward the three Bonnes...then the Mother units and   
their respective Servitor units...then at the remaining thirty-six   
Servbots...and remembering that Barrel and Data were still aboard the   
Flutter...and considering the Flutter's relatively small size. "...er,   
maybe." she finished.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it!" Teasel assured her. "We Bonnes only need   
a lift to the next inhabited island. When we get there, we'll leave   
you alone to do whatever it is you have to do and..."  
  
"No," Sera interrupted. "We need all the help we can get at this   
point. After seeing the talent behind the mecha called 'Gustav III'" (Tron   
grinned proudly) "we really could use your abilities."  
  
"Well, if you really need our help...ah, what good's a treasure if   
you're not alive to spend the profits?" Teasel concluded. "C'mon. We'll   
come with."  
  
With this, everyone headed back toward the Flutter, just as the clouds   
above seemed to burst, and torrents of water cascaded to the earth   
below, accompanied by a fireworks display of lightning, and the resounding   
roar of thunder.  
  
***  
  
As the tiny ship soared above the weeping clouds blanketing the ocean,   
everyone on board took a few minutes to dry off from the sudden   
downpour, then gathered in the living room area, where Yuna spread a map of   
the world on the coffee table. With Roll's permission, a few of the   
Servbots raided the fridge and returned with snacks and drinks. Sera   
voiced a protest against the little robots' frivolous behavior, which went   
unacknowledged.  
  
"In order to shut down the Elder System," Yuna began. "We need to   
access the primary station located here," She pointed to an area on the map   
toward the southwest. "on Kattelox Island. This station houses all   
access to the Elder System's data files, including how to deactivate it.   
Only a few know of its location, including Sera and myself. In order to   
keep an eye on it from Elysium, we built a relay construct of sorts   
above it, called the Main Gate. We posted a low-ranking bureaucratic unit   
as a sentry there to protect it from nosy carbons, but don't worry.   
MegaMan Juno is one of the most reasonable units I know and I'm sure   
he'll be cooperative..." Yuna noticed the worried looks on both Rock's and   
Sera's faces. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Er, Yuna?" Rock volunteered. "Um, Juno isn't there anymore. See, he   
was going to kill everyone on the island, and I couldn't allow that,   
and...."  
  
He didn't need to go on. The look on Yuna's face indicated that she   
understood, and was not happy with the news.  
  
"But it's ok!" Rock continued quickly. "There was no way the carbons   
could have entered the Main Gate. They were scared of it or something,   
and there's no visible entrance, so there's no way any of them could   
even get inside, much less get at the Elder System's controls."  
  
"It's quite all right," Yuna assured him. "Besides, I didn't think the   
sacrifice of thousands of carbons was worth it anyway." But her tone   
of voice suggested otherwise.   
  
"Anyway," the Mother unit continued. "We need to get to the chambers   
underneath the Main Gate."  
  
"We can do that." Roll spoke up. She straightened up from where she   
was leaning over Teasel's back to see the map, and headed toward the   
bridge. "Everyone! We're off to Kattelox!"  
  
"Wait!" Yuna called, stopping the young girl in her tracks. "We can't   
go just yet. There are actually several other locations we must visit   
first."  
  
Roll shrugged and returned to the table.  
  
"As I was saying," Yuna went on, "there are several other locations   
that we need to deal with first." Yuna continued. "The Elder System's   
controls are protected by a large, triple-barrier constructed from our   
best defensive technology, and is therefore completely inpenetrable. We   
can, however, deactivate it, and in order to do that, we must shut down   
each of the control stations, located on three different islands." She   
pointed to each location on the map as she spoke.  
  
"The first control station is located here, in the ruins under Nino   
Island, the second is under the Shala-Kun ruins on Ryship Island," Yuna   
explained, "and the third is located beneath the Lemke Ruins on Tonje   
Island. Since time is of the essence, we should try and take each   
location at once."  
  
There were acknowledging nods from all around. Everyone got up as Yuna   
refolded the map.  
  
"Ok, let's see now," Teasel muttered, "There's Tron, Bon, and myself,   
which makes three. The blue kid and his girlfriend...that's five...the   
Reaverbot ladies and their bodyguards...four altogether...that makes   
nine, and there's three ruins, so that's three groups of three. Question   
is, how are we going to divide up?"  
  
"Remember, one of each of the three is going to have to be Spotters,"   
Sera reminded him.   
  
"I'll be the Spotter for one group, since I'm already experienced in   
that area," Roll said. "And I think the Mother units should be Spotters   
also."  
  
"I am heavily armed and have proven to be an effective fighter!" Sera   
protested. "I could fend for myself in the ruins just as well as anyone   
here!"  
  
"Maybe so, but I figured that the Servitor units would have fits if   
their Mother units were to go somewhere dangerous." Roll responded.  
  
"And she would be correct!" Gaga added, while Jiji nodded in agreement.  
  
"Furthermore, Sera and I are both experts were the Elder System is   
concerned," Yuna added. "So we should each go in different groups."  
  
"Well then it's settled," Tron said. "MegaMan, the blonde lady, and   
myself in one group, Sera and the Servitors in the second, and Teasel,   
Bon, and Roll in the third!"  
  
Neither Teasel nor MegaMan looked happy with the idea of Tron going   
with the blue-armored Digger. Roll looked outright angry, and struggled   
valiantly to hide her disgust.  
  
"That is a valid suggestion, Miss Tron," Yuna said. "However, I don't   
think it would be a good idea for the two Servitors to go together.   
Since a Servitor is only an effective fighter while in their dragon   
form-which is called a 'Fiiru', by the way-then they would have to spend all   
the time they are in the ruins in that particular configuration, with   
the very high possibility of becoming trapped in an area too small for   
their Fiiru forms. In this case, Gaga and Jiji would have to revert to   
humanoid form, leaving them both virtually helpless against a great   
number of enemies. I'm sorry, but I doubt that will work out   
effectively."   
  
After much debating, arguing, and discussion, they finally resigned to   
drawing straws. The final arrangment was thus: MegaMan, Sera, and Jiji   
would go to the Nino Ruins, with Sera as Spotter. Teasel, Bon, and   
Yuna would go to the Shala-Kun Ruins, with Yuna as Spotter, and Tron,   
Gaga, and Roll would take the Lemke ruins, with Roll as Spotter.  
  
"Don't worry," Teasel assured Yuna's distraught guardian when he   
learned of the arrangement. "We won't let anything happen to her. She's in   
good hands." He patted the Servitor reassuringly on the back.  
  
"Er, thank you." Gaga mumbled.  
  
"Oh, and Gaga?" Yuna spoke up, motioning for him to lean closer to her.   
"Keep Roll and Tron from going after each other. It seems that they   
are at odds over MegaMan."  
  
"Understood," the Servitor replied. "Besides, they will be seperated   
by several miles. They could do very little harm to each other from   
that distance."  
  
"Well, now that that's all settled," Teasel yawned. "Where does   
everyone sleep?"  
  
The best any of them could do was look puzzled.  
  
***  
  
Later that night, Roll pulled MegaMan aside into the kitchen for a   
quick discussion.  
  
"MegaMan, I know you're trying to be nice and all, but I really don't   
trust those Bonnes. I mean, after all they've done to you, and to us,   
do you really think it's safe to have them aboard? Just a few months   
ago they kidnapped you! You still want them with us?"  
  
"If this Elder System really is as bad as we think, then we should have   
all the help we can get, like Sera said." MegaMan replied. "Besides,   
with all the Draches and the Gustav locked down, the Bonnes can't do   
much anyway."  
  
"I still don't trust them," Roll protested. "They are pirates, after   
all."  
  
"We may be pirates and all, but we do have a code of honor!" Tron   
called from the doorway. Both MegaMan and Roll jumped at the sudden   
interruption, then turned toward her.  
  
"After all that you've done, saving us and all," Tron continued.   
"you've pretty much made up for all those other incidents. Besides, at   
least I got my hands on you for a little while."  
  
The last sentence had been accompanied by a sly look on the Bonne   
girl's face, and a charming, mischievious smile on her lips. MegaMan's   
cheeks reddened slightly, and Roll scowled.  
  
"Besides," Tron added. "the only person we really shouldn't trust is   
that Sera lady, and that dragon-man she hangs out with. They're the   
ones who tried to kill everyone, after all."  
  
"Look, there's no reason not to trust anyone here," MegaMan said   
tiredly. "We're all fighting to save the world from the Elder System.   
'Enemy of my enemy is my friend', remember? Guess that makes us all friends   
or something." He yawned, then shook his head slightly, as though   
shaking away cobwebs. "Man, I'm beat. It's eleven-thirty at night, and   
it's been a long day. See you all in the morning, huh?"   
  
As MegaMan stumbled his way upstairs, the girls glanced at each other   
momentarily, then decided to follow suit.  
  
As Roll passed through the living room, she took a moment to visit   
with some of the others, who were spending the night in the living room.   
Roll's old crib had been dragged out and expanded for Bon Bonne, who   
was curled up on the mattress, clutching a Zakobon plushie. Data leaned   
up against the baby robot, snoring lightly. Earlier that day, the two   
robots had developed a friendship of sorts, and spent the evening   
conversing in their languages of "Oo-ki-ki!" and "Babu!".  
The Mother units had decided to share the hideaway bed in the couch,   
while the Servitor units occupied cots nearby. Right now, Sera and Yuna   
were reclining on the fully-extended bed, apparently contented with   
their sleeping arrangments. Jiji and Gaga, on the other hand, were not   
quite so relaxed, and seemed reluctant to simply lie down and rest.  
  
"No offense, but do Servitors really need sleep?" Roll asked. Everyone   
looked toward her.  
  
"If you mean whether they need to enter a dormant state to regain their   
strength, yes." Sera replied. "But it's not really sleep, and they   
don't need to as often as humans."  
  
"Besides, we would rather we didn't require it at all," Gaga explained,   
"as it leaves whom we are protecting vulnerable."  
  
"Don't worry. You're one-hundred percent safe aboard the Flutter."   
Roll assured them, then headed toward her own room upstairs. As she left,   
however, she glanced briefly over her shoulder to see that everyone was   
alright. After ensuring that everyone in the living room was in bed   
and asleep-or the equivelent thereof-the young inventor resumed her trek   
upstairs.  
  
***  
  
The arrangement upstairs was to have MegaMan and Teasel in MegaMan's   
room, and Tron and Roll in the latter's quarters, with the Bonnes on   
trundle beds. All was well in Roll's room, but in Megaman's room...  
  
"ssSNNXXXRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!...ZZZZZZZZHHHHHhhhhhhh..."  
  
MegaMan awoke quite suddenly to a horrible snorting, grumbling sound.   
Groggy from the abrupt end to his sleep, the young Digger looked around   
the darkened room for the source of the racket. It turned out that   
Teasel had a severe snoring problem, and MegaMan was the unfortunate soul   
who had to put up with it.  
  
The former Purifier tried to ignore the awful noise; he turned over,   
and pulled the blanket over his head. When that failed to blot out the   
din, he added his pillow to the barricade around his head. Still no   
luck. Frustrated, he picked up the nearest shoe and tossed toward the   
snoozing pirate. The only result was Teasel rolling onto his back, and   
snoring louder than ever.  
  
"SSNNRRRRRXXXNNNXXXXGGHHHH!!...ZZZZHHhhzzzz..."  
  
"Pssst! Teasel!" MegaMan whispered as close to loudly as he could.   
"Hey! Wake up! You're snoring! Teasel? Teasel! Hello!"  
  
But either MegaMan's whispers were too quiet or-more likely-the snoring   
drowned them out. Teasel still didn't wake up.   
  
By this time, MegaMan was outright desperate. He reached out, grabbed   
his helmet off the nightstand, put it on, turned off the audio sensors,   
and listened.  
  
Silence.  
  
The audio-less helmet was nearly soundproof, thus enabling MegaMan to   
fall asleep just fine. The helmet was uncomforable, yes, but anything   
was better than that wretched snoring. 


	6. The Quest Begins

battleforterra5.html The next morning, Roll headed downstairs to make the daily pot of coffee, and prepare breakfast for everyone. Her stomach was clenched up on itself with excitement and fear. This was it! Today was the day when the greatest battle the planet had seen in years was to begin, and she was going to be a part of it! And besides that, they were headed back to Kattelox Island in a few days, one of the best places Roll had ever visited. Her anticipation was so intense, tiny shivers skittered through her arms and down her wrists, and her heart throbbed excitedly. 

The young Spotter set to work, placing the coffee grounds and the water in the coffee maker located on a cabinet in the living room, and turning it on. Everyone in the room was fast asleep: the Mother units dozed peacefully on their hide-a-bed, while the Servitors lay completely still and silent on their cots. No one moved or made any sound. The silent peace of the room quelled Roll's excitement a little bit, but not very much. 

The coffee percolated, coming to a perk with a soft *blip-blip* sound. Roll set out some cups, cream, and sugar, then turned to head toward the kitchen-and nearly bumped into Jiji, who was standing directly behind her. Roll barely suppressed a cry of surprise at his sudden appearance, and took a moment to calm her jumping nerves down. 

"Oh! You're awake!" she stammered. "I...I didn't hear you moving around. Did I wake you? I'm sorry!" 

"Quite all right." the Servitor unit assured her. "This unit detected your movements, and was awakened. As it has reached full energy levels, it is content to remain activated." 

"Ok, then. Say, um, it'll be a few more hours until we reach our destination. If you need something to do, then I could use some help in the kitchen, if you'd like." 

Jiji hesitated, then turned to look over toward Sera, who was still asleep. Roll interpreted this gesture almost right away. 

"She'll be fine," the young Spotter told him. "There's no danger to her here." 

After another brief pause, Jiji eventually came to a decision. "Thank you, but this unit would rather resume its duties of guarding Mistress Sera." 

"If you say so," Roll shrugged. "Well, anyway, I planned on making omelets this morning and...whoa!" 

She was interrupted by MegaMan's entrance into the living room. Nothing remarkable about that in and of itself, of course, except that sleeping with his helmet on had apparently had a rather unfortunate effect on the young Digger's hair. Roll was not entirely successful at repressing her amusement at the spiky mess on her friend's head. 

"Um, good morning. Sleep well?" she asked amid barely-restrained giggles. 

"No!" MegaMan grumbled irritably. "Teasel sounds like a broken chainsaw when he sleeps, and I had to put my helmet on to block out the noise. Even then I got like three hours' worth of sleep last night. And yes, I know my hair looks funny." He reached for a cup and the coffee maker, and started to pour himself some. It took several tries, and a few steaming puddles on the carpet, before he managed to properly align the spout and the mug. 

"MegaMan Trigger? Are you functioning properly?" Jiji asked worriedly. "If you are incapacitated in any way, then perhaps you should wait until you are fully operational before attempting to enter the ruins." 

"It's alright, Jiji." Roll explained as she finished cleaning up the mess on the carpet. "He's fine. He's always like this in the mornings. Well, better get to work on those omelets! Excuse me!" She headed for the kitchen, while the Servitor turned and headed to where Sera was still sleeping to watch over her. 

*** 

Fifteen minutes later, MegaMan made the morning wake-up call, much to the dismay of the Bonnes. Teasel approached him in the hallway just outside the living room, Tron directly behind him. 

"Why do we have to get up at six in the morning, anyway?" the pirate demanded. "On the Geselschaft, we usually don't get started until ten or eleven!" 

"Well, we need to get going as soon as possible," MegaMan protested. "We're planning on hitting all three stations in one day, and we're going to need time to get everyone to where they need to be." 

"One day?!" Teasel shrieked. "Why one day? How do you expect to pull that off, huh?" 

"Terra's being torn apart!" MegaMan nearly yelled. "We don't have time to take things slowly!" 

"Fine, fine." the older man grumbled. "So...what's for breakfast?" 

"Roll's making omelets." MegaMan answered. 

"With curry?" 

"If you want it." 

"How long does it take?" 

"Oh, about twenty minutes." 

"Hmmph! On the Geselschaft, it only takes five minutes!" 

"This isn't the Geselschaft, Teasel! This is the Flutter! And while on board the Flutter, I'm afraid you're going to have to go by our rules and stuff." 

"Why?" 

MegaMan couldn't believe his ears! Why was Teasel being so irrational all of a sudden? 

"Because it's our ship!" the young Digger admonished, realizing, too late, that Teasel had been setting him up. 

"You're ship, huh?" the green-armored pirate repeated, grinning broadly. "Well, now, that can be altered!" He turned toward the living room, shouting, "Ok everyone! NOW!" 

Nothing. Frowning, Teasel tried again. 

"NOW!" he shouted, louder this time. By this time, MegaMan was looking at him suspiciously, as was Jiji, watching the encounter from the open living room door nearby. He moved closer to Sera, keeping an eye on the pirate. 

"What are you trying to do?" MegaMan asked suspiciously, wishing that he had a weapon on him. 

"Er, um, just a minute," Teasel stammered, and turned his back to consult a hand-held walkie-talkie. Tron grinned, trying her best at a we're-not-up-to-anything expression. 

"You idiots! Didn't you hear the signal?" the green-armored pirate hissed into his walkie-talkie. Only the sounds of Servbot snoring floated out. 

"C'mon, you guys!" Tron added. "Remember last night? When we planned this out?" Meanwhile, MegaMan flexed his fists, in case he had to fight the pirates by hand. 

"Look, I'm only gonna say this one more time!" Teasel shouted out in a rush, obviously nervous. "NOOOOWW!" 

Apparently, that had the desired effect. Shrill battle cries echoed throughout the ship. 

"Wha...?" Before MegaMan could do anything, the Bonnes suddenly sprang into motion. The Servbots, which only moments before were snoozing peacefully, jumped up and began terrorizing everyone with skull-marked bombs. They dragged the Mother units out of bed, dumped Gaga out of his cot, and held them all at bay with bombs. Live explosives flew through the air, sometimes blowing mid-flight. About seven leaped onto Jiji all at once; the Servitor unit fought back determinedly, before one or two of the little bots grabbed onto his long hair, dragging him down and out of sight. Three of the little robots headed for the kitchen; sounds of chopping and frying inside were interrupted by a shout of surprise as the trio ran in screaming, tossing bombs, then slamming the door shut behind them. Muffled explosions went off in the sealed-off kitchen, and whitish smoke drifted from under the door. 

Bon Bonne, meanwhile, leapt up from his crib, and tossed Data across the room. The little robotic monkey barely had time to emit a startled "ee-EEEEK!" before slamming into the wall. Bon quickly scrambled through the melee, out of the living room, slammed the door behind him, and leaned up against it to barricade it, brandishing his weapons and uttering a triumphant "Babuuu!" 

Teasel let loose one of his trademark cackles, while MegaMan looked on helplessly. 

"Well, that's that!" the pirate exclaimed, heading for the bridge. "Toodles!" 

MegaMan started to follow...but Tron stood in front of him, leveling a laser pistol at his chest. 

"Going somewhere?" she asked sweetly. The ex-Purifier, had no choice but to back down. Then, he saw the painfully familiar metal whip clutched in Tron's other hand. Now she uncoiled it, the thong twitching and gleaming like a steel serpent. Tron raised the weapon above her head, a sadistic smile forming on her lips. 

"Now..." she said silkily. "Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?" 

MegaMan's heart sank to his boots. 

*** 

Teasel Bonne burst onto the bridge, startling Barrel Casket, who was steering the ship. 

"Can I help you?" the retired Digger asked. Teasel gave a nonverbal reply in the form of a rough shove to the side, where a few Slingshot Servbots leveled their weapons at Barrel's face. The elderly man made no attempt to resist. 

Teasel grabbed the wheel, giggling madly. Despite the little delay-and with MegaMan so close to foiling it before it could begin-everything was now running smoothly. He picked up the mike near the wheel, turned it on, and made a shipwide announcement: 

"Attention, everyone aboard the Flutter. The Bonnes are now in control of this ship! From now on, we're doing things OUR way! First order of business: no more of this getting up at the break of dawn! Here on outward, we all sleep until ten! Second order business: curry rice three meals a day!" 

He was interrupted by sounds of disgust coming in from all over the ship. Frowning, Teasel continued, 

"Third order of business: we will convert one of the storage rooms into a torture room for anyone who's foolish enough to go against us!" 

At this point, Yuna's voice floated through the speaker, "If he thinks we're actually going to go through with this nonsense...!" 

"...and that Yuna chick will have the honor of being the one to test it!" Teasel interrupted her. "Servbots! Begin construction on the torture room immediately, and start Yuna's punishment as soon as even one implement is ready!" 

The Servbots complied, and apparently they were fast workers, because Yuna's cries of pain echoed through the ship almost immediately. 

"Ow! OW! Stop that!" she shrieked. "Ow! That's enough! OUCH! Uh oh! GAGA! Don't do anyth...NO! STOP!" 

Teasel switched off the mike, giggling happily to himself. This was so perfect! The Flutter was finally his to control! And no one was in any position to stop him! Humming a merry tune to himself, the pirate took the wheel and began steering the tiny ship in a direction of his choosing. 

***   
SNNAP! 

MegaMan gasped in pain as the metal whip lashed across his chest. Yuna's cries floated out of the living room, echoing his own agony. The former Purifier unit was kneeling in front of Tron, trying to think of a way out of this, while his tormentor grinned happily, snapping the whip again and again, carrying out her long-sought-after vengeance at long last. 

"And this is for taking my MegaMan 3 cartridge!" Tron shrieked, snapping the whip across MegaMan Volnutt's face. 

SNNAP! 

"And this is for taking MegaMan 4!" 

SNNAAP! 

"MegaMan 5!" 

SNNAP! 

"And finally, MegaMan 6!" 

SNNAP! 

The door to the living room shuddered suddenly, as though a hurricane were slamming against it. Bon leaned against it even harder, trying to keep whatever was happening restrained. 

MegaMan's mind raced through a number of solutions, while the shuddering living room door kept Tron distracted. Finally, he decided on one. 

"You know, Tron, the more you hurt me with that whip, the less I like you," MegaMan said, then immediately winced. That was a terrible opening line! It worked, though. Tron stopped, mid-strike, the whip dangling from her clenched fist, and her green eyes filled with wonderment. 

"The less you...you mean...you really like me?" she asked. Rock could hear the excited, hopeful tremble in her voice. 

"Well, yeah." he continued. "I think you're kinda cute." 

"Really?" 

"Well sure. And you're really smart, too." All the time, MegaMan was thinking, [Man, I hate to trick her like this! But if it gets me out of this, then I guess I have to go through with it.] He looked into her emerald green eyes, and decided, [Then again, it's not as if I'm telling a complete lie. She is smart, and kinda pretty...too bad she's a pirate.] 

"You mean it?" Tron asked, and by this time, her cheeks were slightly reddened. 

"Well, maybe not that smart." MegaMan amended. Before his nemesis could respond, the young Digger leapt forward, grabbing her wrists in attempt to take both the gun and the whip. They struggled briefly, but MegaMan eventually won, taking both weapons. 

"You...you tricked me!" Tron shrieked. "You lying, dirty, cheating, sneak! Men! Arrgghh!" Tears shone in her eyes, and MegaMan felt a fresh pang of guilt. 

"Well, it wasn't all a lie." he explained truthfully, before turning and heading toward the ladder. Tron regathered herself and ran after him, the two racing down the hall. Fortunately, MegaMan got there first, slammed the door on Tron, and locked it. 

Teasel whirled around at the sudden intrusion, to see MegaMan standing there, Tron's laser gun held in his hand. The air pirate reacted immediately. 

"After him, boys!" he ordered, firing a beacon bomb from a handheld launcher. Right away, MegaMan was tackled by four Servbots, and all went down in a tangle. 

The blue-clad Digger cried out in panic as the little robots pounded him with their teeny pinchers, kicked him, and tried to choke him. He tried to pull them off, but they clung to him like stubborn burrs. Growling in frustration, MegaMan climbed back to his feet, only to be pulled down again. 

"That's it! That's the ticket!" Teasel exulted. "Looks like the Bonnes win this time, Blue Boy! Uwahahaha-" His laugh was cut short when Barrel-who was forgotten when the Servbots went after MegaMan-jumped the air pirate, knocking him to the floor. The Servbots immediately forgot their task, and ran over to their fallen master, asking if he was alright. MegaMan took this opportunity to break free and scramble over to the wheel, regaining control of the Flutter. He grabbed the mike, and spoke into it: 

"Ok, everyone. Everything's back under our control. We're back on course to the original coordinates, and the Flutter's controls are being extra-heavily secured from now on, just in case." 

Almost immediately, the shrill voices of numerous Servbots responded, "We surrender!!!" and Bon's despondent, "Baaabu!" echoed through the speakers. 

That done, MegaMan turned to leave, and check up on everyone. As he left, he instructed Barrel, "Keep an eye on these guys, ok?" and handed him the laser gun. 

"Don't worry about a thing," the professor responded. 

As the young Digger headed out the door, Tron trudged in, glaring. 

"I told you it wouldn't work!" she scolded her older brother. Teasel only hung his head. 

*** 

Downstairs, Bon had left his post and gone into the living room when MegaMan arrived to check on everyone. The baby bot was standing in the corner next to Data, who had his back turned to Bon, and was hunched over in anger. Bon's guilty sounding "Babubabubabu!" and Data's angry, "OOKIKII!" gave the impression of a ruined friendship trying to be mended. 

Both Sera and Yuna were unharmed, each restraining a Servbot. Jiji stood nearby, clutching a squirming, kicking Servbot by the back of the neck in each hand, and standing on a third one. Most of the other Servbots were huddled in the farthest corner, their large eyes even larger with fright, and MegaMan immediately saw why. 

Gaga was a huge, silver Reaverbot dragon, squeezed rather uncomfortably against the northeast corner of the living room. Several of the little robots were trapped in his huge mandibles; others were pinned beneath his forepaws; he clutched a few more in each taloned back paw; even more were wound up in the coils of his tail. 

"HELP! HELP! MISS TRON! THE REAVERBOT'S EATING MEEEE!" one of the Servbots between the great jaws screeched. After pausing a few minutes to take in this bizarre sight, MegaMan turned and peeked into the kitchen. Inside was an equally strange scene: Roll standing in the middle of the room, with a badly dented frying pan in one hand and three unconscious Servbots crumpled at her feet. Scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, and pimentos coated everything in the kitchen, including its occupants. 

"Um, everything all right in here?" MegaMan asked slowly. 

"Everything's under control." Roll said, smiling a bit lopsidedly. A chunk of pimento slid out of her bangs onto the floor. 

"Nobody hurt?" her friend asked. 

"I don't think so." Roll answered. "Um, breakfast might be a little late." 

"That's ok." her friend answered, then turned to leave, but not before grabbing the unconscious Servbots and dragging them out with him. 

MegaMan took one last glance at the kitchen, to make sure everything was as well as Roll said it was. The Spotter had retrieved another frying pan, and was cracking eggs into a bowl, but not before giving him a quick I-told-you-so glance. MegaMan smiled nervously at his friend, then turned to leave. Out in the living room, things had more or less settled down, except for Tron. She was banging a fist against Gaga's muzzle, demanding that he release her Servbots. He reluctantly complied, stating on no uncertain terms that he would not hesitate to harm the little robots if they ever threatened Yuna again. 

Sera and Yuna were putting the cots and hideabed up for the day, folding the latter back into a couch. Jiji, who was helping them, dragged several blankets to the closet nearby, grumbling, "We gave up life on Elysium for *this*?" 

*** 

An hour or so later, everyone was ready to go. Each of the three groups took a Drache, leaving Barrel to keep an eye on the Flutter. The Gustav III had been retrieved from the shores of Calbania Island and repaired, and two extra sets of Roll's Spotting equipment were constructed for the Mother units and set up in the Draches. Unfortunately, the Bonnes' hijacking attempt had raised tensions between the pirate family and the others, and trust had been shattered. 

One sign of the heightened mistrust was Roll's change in behavior toward Tron. The young Spotter would glare at her rival, and watch her every move, as though expecting her to go for a weapon any moment. This did not go unnoticed by Tron, who kept her distance from Roll, and scowled back. Not for the first time, MegaMan began to question the decision to pair them up, but last night's planning session had turned up no alternatives. 

Another incident occurred about the same time with Teasel. The air pirate was climbing into his team's Drache behind Yuna and Bon, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Gaga standing there. 

"Yuna will return to the Flutter unharmed," the Servitor stated. 

"Yeah, of course she will." Teasel responded, and tried to enter the ship, but Gaga interrupted him again. 

"This unit has misgivings toward your claims, Mr. Bonne." Yuna's guardian said coldly, narrowing his eyes. "Especially since she was chosen to be the first for your torture room." 

"Look, it won't happen again, alright?" Teasel growled impatiently. "I said I was sorry! Yuna won't be hurt, I promise! Besides, Bon and I will be down in the ruins, away from Yuna. She'll be fine!" 

Gaga nodded, although his facial expression remained hard, then turned to join Roll and Tron. Teasel sighed shakily to calm himself-he had seen what the Servitor unit was capable of, and did NOT want to be on the receiving end-and climbed into the Drache. 

*** 

Moments later, three Draches launched from the Flutter, each heading in a separate direction, with the hopes of stopping the chaos that now reigned on their planet below. And so began the Battle for Terra!   



	7. Trio of Trios

The first Drache docked at Nino Island, on the boardwalk-like complex   
outside the tower that housed both its water-filled ruins and the carbon   
city above. Upon arrival and landing, the ship's occupants-Sera, Jiji,   
and MegaMan-disembarked and headed for the interior of the tower.  
  
"You two get ready to enter the ruins while I go and speak with the one   
who is in charge of this city," the former Mother unit of Elysium said,   
then paused and amended, "On second thought, you both had better come   
with me. It is important that you two hear what I have to say as well."  
  
Once inside, MegaMan lead his foes-turned-allies to the second level of   
the huge tower, where the main city-and the mayor's office-was located.   
The mayor of Nino Island was, in fact, the Guildmaster for the elite   
Digger's Guild, the official Diggers' club.  
  
The city itself was constructed along the edges of the tower, with the   
entrance to the Nino Ruins in the center of the plaza. MegaMan saw   
that the entrance had been not only sealed shut, but the outer doors had   
been reinforced with wooden planks concrete as well. Ruined Reaverbots   
littered the near-empty plaza, giving an idea as to how bad the   
situation with the Elder System had become here. A loud, steady banging   
resounded from beneath the sealed doors.  
  
Upon entering the Guild's main office, the young Digger noticed that   
the desk on the right was occupied by a nervous, watchful young lady.   
The doors nearby-which once lead to the Nino Sub-ruins-were sealed off   
with concrete and wooden planks similar to the ones covering the ruins   
outside, and topped off with a sign stating RUINS CLOSED OFF UNTIL   
FURTHER NOTICE. The doors next to these, which lead to the Guild testing   
rooms, were likewise sealed shut. A couple of dead Zakoben lay in the   
corner. MegaMan felt a small chill in his belly; apparently even the   
experienced S-Class Diggers of Nino were having trouble with this new   
threat.  
  
The trio entered inner office, where the Guildmaster himself was. Sera   
and Jiji introduced themselves (the Guildmaster had already met   
MegaMan) and requested a quick, private conference. The Guildmaster's   
assistant was promptly shooed from the room.  
  
"Alright," the bearded mayor of Nino stated. "Now that everything's   
squared away, what can I help you with?"  
  
"Evacuate the city." Sera replied bluntly.  
  
"What?" The Guildmaster looked at her, baffled. MegaMan glanced over   
at Jiji, confirming that Sera was the only one in the room who knew what   
she was talking about.  
  
"Evacuate Nino city," the Mother unit repeated. "Immediately!"  
  
"Why? I thought you came here to save us!" the Guildmaster protested.  
  
"We're here to save Terra," Sera replied, then explained, "You see, we   
are attempting to deactivate the barrier surrounding the controls to   
the Elder System, which is what has been threatening the world recently.   
In order to do that, we need to access and deactivate three control   
stations located at three different islands, including this one. However,   
" She glanced over at her companions to make sure they got the message   
as well, and continued, "once the station is deactivated, it will begin   
an automatic self-destruct program, powerful enough to level the ruins,   
and the city with it. We're not sure whether or not we will be able to   
stop it, so I recommend that you evacuate everyone from the city for   
safety measures."  
  
The decision took only a moment to make, then the Guildmaster was   
reaching for the intercom, and making the city-wide announcment:  
  
"THIS IS THE MAYOR ORDERING THE IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY EVACUATION OF NINO   
ISLAND CITY. REPEAT: THIS IS AN ORDER FOR IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY   
EVACUATION. PACK EVERYTHING YOU NEED, AND GET AS FAR AWAY FROM THE ISLAND AS   
POSSIBLE. MAKE NO PLANS TO RETURN, AS THE CITY MAY BE DESTROYED. THIS   
NOT A DRILL! PACK FOR PERMANENT DEPARTURE, AND EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"  
  
His voice reverberated throughout the walled-in city, followed by the   
murmurs and bustle of people packing their belongings. Ships in the   
docks below hummed to life, preparing to take Nino's inhabitants to   
safety.  
  
"Thank you!" Sera told the mayor. "Now, as I said before, we need to   
get inside the ruins. Could you please order some of your workers to   
open the entrance?"  
  
"If it will save the world, I most certainly will!" the Guildmaster   
exclaimed, and gave the order.  
  
***  
  
The concrete barrier blocking the entrance to the ruins was broken   
apart, and the badly-dented doors underneath opened in half an hour. Sera   
returned to the Drache and its Spotting equipment, while her companions   
descended the ladder into the ruins and began their quest.  
  
MegaMan paused in the huge room just inside the entrance. According to   
Barrel, this was where the blue-armored Digger had been discovered as a   
baby almost sixteen years ago. Even though MegaMan knew he had existed   
for centuries, if not milennia, he nonetheless considered this room to   
be his birthplace. After all, it was where his current life began, and   
the young Digger took a few moments to reflect upon this...until the   
HammuruDoll a few yards away interrupted his reverie, and brought his   
mind back to the present with a jolt.  
  
[I don't remember any HammuruDolls in here!] MegaMan thought in a wild   
panic as the great robot bore down on him. He charged up his buster,   
and unleashed several bolts of plasma at this new threat, aiming for the   
head. The majority hit their mark, and the HammuruDoll hesitated. The   
former Purifier knew from experience what it means when a HammaruDoll   
pauses for more than a second. He leapt quickly to the right, just as   
the giant Reaverbot's massive, mace-tipped arms crashed down, chipping   
the concrete floor where MegaMan had been standing only moments before.  
  
Meanwhile, MegaMan allowed his life-saving jump to end in a prone   
position on the floor, and rolled to the side, away from the HammaruDoll's   
subsequent pounding on the floor. The great bludgeons on its arms   
struck again and again.  
  
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!  
  
MegaMan could feel the breeze from the last blow, indicating a very   
narrow escape. He rolled onto his back, and aimed for the Reaverbot's   
eye. A series of purple energy spheres beat him to it, however. Glancing   
over his shoulder, the young Digger saw that Jiji had transformed into   
his Fiiru form, and was firing away at the giant beast.  
  
The HammaruDoll turned toward this new threat, something akin to rage   
gleaming in its single eye. Its massive arms were raised once more,   
aiming to bash Jiji's head in. Moving incredibly fast for a creature of   
his size, the Servitor skittered out of the way, and clamped his massive   
jaws down onto the Reaverbot's crushing limbs. With the behemoth thus   
effectively restrained, MegaMan was able to run up to it and fire at   
its weakened shell with abandon. The HammaruDoll struggled at first,   
then grew still, as the black smoke of Reaverbot death rose from its   
ruined shell.  
  
"C'mon! Let's get out of here!" MegaMan ordered, as he headed for the   
nearby corridor, and out of the room. Jiji changed back into his   
humanoid form-the corridor was too small for his large Fiiru   
configuration-and did the same.  
  
As soon as the two were safely in the corridor, out of the   
HammaruDoll's reach in case it came back to life, their communicators crackled to   
life.  
  
"This is Sera," the voice at the other end greeted. "Are you two   
receiving this communication? MegaMan? Jiji?"  
  
"We read you," MegaMan responded. "Why didn't you tell us about the   
HammaruDoll?"   
  
"Why? Did you not see it?" Sera asked innocently.   
  
"Yes, but it's the Spotter's job to warn the Digger of any danger,   
whether he can see it or not!" the former Purifier nearly yelled at her.  
  
"Ohhh!" came the guilty-sounding apology. "My apologies. I'm afraid I   
still have much to learn about Spotting. Anyway, getting back to the   
mission, the entrance to the Elder Ruins is located approximately two to   
two and a half miles to the northwest. It has been electronically   
shielded so that it doesn't appear on any maps or Spotting equipment, but I   
have the layout in my memory banks, so I can lead you to it. Sera   
out."  
  
"Roger," MegaMan replied, then turned to Jiji. "Let's go!"  
  
With that, they turned and headed in the direction Sera had mentioned.  
  
***  
  
MegaMan and Jiji ran down the brick-lined hallways, destroying an   
occasional Reaverbot along the way. At first, they sprinted down the   
corridors with no trouble at all. But after about forty minutes, MegaMan   
started to feel the need to rest: his breaths came in gasps, and his legs   
started to ache. His throat felt as though it were made of sandpaper.  
  
"Say...Jiji...(pant, pant!) Do you think we could...stop and rest a   
minute?" MegaMan stammered out. His companion only glanced back   
disdainfully, but did not even slow down.  
  
"Please?" MegaMan wheezed. By this time, a cramp was gnawing through   
his side, and his lungs were starting to burn.   
  
"You're not tiring already?!" Jiji asked incredulously, without looking   
back.   
  
"We've been running for forty-five minutes!" MegaMan protested. "I   
need a break!"  
  
"We cannot afford the time for a break," came the reply. "Terra is   
being destroyed even as we speak."  
  
Yes, but...!" MegaMan started to object, but was interrupted by a   
Fishurudot leaping up and trying to take a bite out of him. The young   
Digger stopped and dispatched of the beast, only to have the exhaustion   
overtake him completely. He sank to the ground, gasping for air. Jiji   
kept going.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" the former Purifier called, but to no avail. Sighing,   
he reluctantly climbed to his feet, and tried to catch up.   
  
[Why couldn't I get paired with someone else?!] MegaMan wondered   
miserably. [Why this guy?]  
  
Fortunately, Jiji had stopped a few yards ahead to wait. He didn't   
even look out of breath.  
  
"What is wrong?" the Servitor unit demanded. "Why are you unable to   
keep up? A mere Fourth-Class Purifier unit would be at the entrance by   
now!"  
  
"I'm not a Purifier anymore," MegaMan grumbled. "I'm part human now!   
And my human part needs a break!" With this, the blue-armored Digger   
uncorked his canteen and gulped its contents, the water cool and   
refreshing down his burning throat.  
  
Jiji scowled for a moment, then turned and resumed his trek toward the   
Elder ruins entrance. Cursing softly, MegaMan resealed the canteen and   
followed, a bit vexed at having his rest interrupted prematurely.  
  
***  
  
"...and extra ammo," Teasel muttered, studying the list in his hands.  
  
"Babu," Bon confirmed, holding up the cartridge.  
  
"That's it!" the elder Bonne exclaimed, crumpling up the list. "Let's   
go!" The two pirates picked up their supplies and marched toward the   
gaping entrance of the Shala-Kun ruins. Teasel could feel the cool,   
earthy breeze drifting out, soothing his sweaty face and improving his   
mood.  
  
[Well, here we are, saving the world again!] he thought cheerfully.   
[Twice in a lifetime! I wonder if maybe that means something?] He let   
his thoughts drift towards this new idea, only to have them interrupted   
by a panicked scream. The green-armored pirate snapped out of his   
daydream just in time to see a youngish man with messy brown hair coming   
racing toward him, panic shining in his eyes.  
  
"Re...Reaverbots!" the newcomer gasped. "Loads of 'em! Everywhere!"   
He stumbled to a stop in front of Teasel and Bon, gasping for breath.   
Yuna peeked curiously out of the Drache hovering above.  
  
"Whoa! Whoa! Easy there!" Teasel said, grasping the young man by the   
shoulders. "What's all this about Reaverbots?"  
  
"I just said, there's tons of them down there!" the newcomer yelped.   
"Didn't you hear me?!"  
  
"What kinds?" Teasel asked.  
  
"Dunno what they're called exactly," came the reply. "Big dog-things,   
and huge tanks, and some I can't even describe!"   
  
"Don't worry, Mister,uh...." Teasel prompted.  
  
"Dantz."  
  
"Right, Dantz. Don't worry, we're going in there to try and get rid of   
them.  
  
Dantz's eyes nearly popped out of his head in sheer disbelief.  
  
"Get...get rid of them?!" he spluttered. "How are you going to do   
that? There's zillions...!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, zillions of them," Teasel grumbled irritably. "We've   
already established that. Look, don't worry about it, ok? We're going in,   
and we're not coming out until we've done our part to make Terra a   
safer place, understand?"  
  
"Babu!" Bon crowed. Dantz still looked skeptical, but he seemed to   
accept the pirate's boast. He went over to a nearby pickup, and sat down   
on the runnerboard to take a long swig out of his canteen.  
  
"Well, let's go," Yuna called from the Drache. "The sooner we get   
started, the sooner we're finished." Teasel and Bon nodded their   
compliance, and headed through the entrance. Dantz watched them go.  
  
"How can just two people defeat all those Reaverbots?" he mused.   
Yuna's reply startled him.  
  
"You'd be surprised at what enough determination can do," she explained   
to the harried Digger. "After all, I once witnessed a single   
individual saving the entire world."  
  
"Really?" Dantz's interest was piqued.   
  
"Yes," the Mother unit told him. "But now's not the time for   
storytelling. I've got some Spotting to do, so if you'll excuse me...."  
  
"Hm? Oh, sure." With that, Dantz placed his canteen back into the   
holding ring on his belt, and climbed into the pickup to leave.   
  
***  
  
"All systems are ready," Roll announced from aboard the Drache on Tonje   
Island. "But according to these readings, there's nothing in those   
ruins that resembles the room Yuna talked about before we left." She   
leaned over the electronic screen, puzzled.  
  
"Mistress Yuna instructed this unit to tell you that the entrance to   
the Elder ruins is electronically barricaded," Gaga told her. "Just   
direct us to the coordinates she gave you. It will be there."   
  
"All right," Roll answered doubtfully. She didn't like not knowing   
what was going on.  
  
"If everyone's ready, can we get moving?" Tron Bonne demanded. "Yuna   
said that it was going to take about a day or so to get through, so the   
sooner we get going, the better!" Her companions agreed to that.  
  
Gaga and Tron stood before the wind-worn entrance to the Lemke ruins.   
The nearby town of Yaschichi had been plentiful where necessary replies   
were concerned, but sorely lacking in courtesy, so it had taken them a   
good three hours of running around to get the necessary equipment.   
Needless to say, patience had been worn thin, and they still had at least   
twelve more hours to go.  
  
After making one last systems check, Tron powered up the Gustav III and   
armed its weapons. The mecha had been retrieved from the shores of   
Calbania Island the night before, and it had taken the second-youngest   
Bonne all night to restore it back to optimal condition. Now she settled   
herself comfortably in its leather seat, and made a quick roll check on   
the six Servbots-#'s 1, 17, 20, 22, 40, and 41-that would accompany   
them into the ruins.  
  
"All right, let's move out!" the teenaged pirate announced, and steered   
the Gustav toward the entrance, opened it, and marched down the   
dust-clogged hallway, the Servbots trailing behind, and Gaga bringing up the   
rear. Almost right away, a swarm of Cannams lurched toward them, lenses   
glinting evilly. Tron barely had time to squeeze off a Beacon Bomb   
before one of the spiderlike robots jumped onto the Gustav's front and   
pounded away at its hull.  
  
"Well, we're certainly off to a terrific start," Tron grumbled   
sarcastically. She yanked the main control column towards herself sharply,   
tilting the Gustav backward. The added momentum of the Cannam threw them   
both to the ground, where Tron immediately rolled the mecha around by   
throwing her weight side to side. The Reaverbot let out a shrill yelp   
before the Gustav's weight crushed it into tinfoil.   
  
[When attacked by a Reaverbot,] Tron thought wryly, [stop, drop, and   
roll!]   
  
Speaking of Roll, Tron abruptly realized that the Spotter's voice was   
yelling through the speakers.   
  
"Didn't you guys hear me?" Tron's rival yelled. "I said that there   
were Reaverbots all over the place!"  
  
"Thanks, but we kinda figured that out on our own!" Tron retorted, then   
turned the Gustav's head to the side. From where she was lying, the   
young pirate could see the silver bird-dragon that was Gaga incinerating   
what was left of the Reaverbots with his flame breath. That done, he   
turned and asked Tron if she needed any help, which she declined.   
  
Pushing the Gustav back onto its feet, the pirate girl made a quick   
check to make sure all the Servbots were present and accounted for, then   
continued on the way. Gaga, she noticed, was content to remain in his   
dragonlike Fiiru form. For a few minutes, Tron watched him striding   
easily alongside the Gustav, occasionally falling behind when the   
passageway got too narrow for the both of them.   
  
When she had first seen the Servitor unit back during the attempt at   
the Mother Lode, Tron had watched him closely, both at the press   
conference she and her brothers snuck into, as well as later on, when he helped   
rescue them after Jiji's attack on their ship. Both times, the young   
pirate girl had gotten a good look at the silvery creature, her   
fascination with all things robotic coming through, and studying him as closely   
as possible. For this reason, the upgrades Yuna had given him were   
noticeable to Tron almost right away.  
  
The biggest difference by far was the addition of hind legs to the   
formerly birdlike form; Gaga's torso had been lengthened somewhat to   
accomodate the new limbs, and the addition was jointed, allowing for more   
flexibility. The legs themselves were as long as his wings, and shaped   
like those of a terrestrial animal, such as a dog or a cat. The legs   
stood on four-toed animal paws-three toes in the front, one in the back,   
higher up. Each toe was armed with a sickle-shaped, retractable talon,   
as razor-sharp and deadly as it looked. With his wings acting as   
forelegs, Gaga moved easily in a quadrupedal gait. There were other   
differences, too, but much less noticeable; the blades on his muzzle were   
raked back, giving him a more streamlined appearance, and the muzzle itself   
was slightly shorter and narrower. Tron assumed that his counterpart,   
Jiji, had received the same upgrades.  
  
[Man, I wish I could have gotten MegaMan to come with me,] the pirate   
girl thought unhappily. [Then again, it's not every day I get to work   
with a Reaverbot.] Allying oneself with other, more ruthless pirates   
was nothing compared to going on a Dig-or something close enough to a   
Dig-with a friendly Reaverbot by her side. Especially a Reaverbot such as   
this. Still, having MegaMan along would have been so much better!  
  
Acting on a sudden impulse, Tron fired a Beacon Bomb at Gaga, to see   
what would happen. As soon as the Bomb struck, the Servbots scurried   
over, climbed onto the Servitor's back, and rode him like a horse. Gaga   
glanced over at his passengers curiously, but didn't slow down. The   
Servbots, for their part, were having a great time. Tron smiled at her   
robotic children's antics, especially when the silvery Reaverbot gave her   
an odd look. But no one said anything, and their pace was not slowed.  
  
"According to my scanner, the wall at the coordinates Yuna mentioned is   
too thick to penetrate with any drill or gun. In fact, it looks for   
all the world like an outer wall," Roll mused.  
  
"Well, if she says it's there, then it's there!" Tron argued.   
  
"Well, yeah, but...never mind! It looks like you're just a few feet   
from the entrance to the Elder Ruins. Just a few steps more...a few   
more...there! Try and punch through the wall there!"  
  
"Try and punch through it, she says," Tron grumbled, eyeing the   
very-solid-looking wall in front of her. She punched the Gustav's huge fists   
at it, even though she expected the barest shudder-and nothing even   
remotely resembling breaking-that resulted.  
  
"Allow me," Gaga asked, motioning with the forepaw on the end of his   
right wing for Tron to stand back. She obeyed, and watched as the   
Servitor lunged at the thick barricade, his sharp beak digging into the   
stones it was constructed of. He continued burrowing through, until half of   
his muzzle had vanished into the wall, then opened the great jaws wide,   
plowing even more stones out of the way. Once the hole was large   
enough, the Servitor unit employed the razor-sharp talons on his hind paws   
as well, using his wings and tail for support. Soon, the hole was a   
good nine feet around, allowing for everyone to pass through. Tron   
watched all this with unconcealed amazement.  
  
[Wow!] she thought. [Maybe I got a good partner after all!] She   
guided the Gustav through the new passage way, Servbots trailing behind. 


	8. Midfic notes

Mid-Point Author's Note:

My screen name is MacrossGreen. IRL, my name is Tyson. I've been around for a while now, actually (4 years as of 12-31-04), but I've been on hiatus for a while. I was a bit too busy to work on fanfictions too much for about two years with IRL stuff, and having limited Internet access killed my writing as well, really. Anyway, I've been back for the past 2-3 months now, working on other fanfics to try and get some sort of writing skill back... and according to the reviews I've received from my newest fics, I'd say I've managed to make a comeback.

To those who are reading this and first began doing so back in 2002 or so, I would like to thank and apologize to you for the lateness of the updated chapter that will be following this one. Please forgive my particular lack of updating for this series! The author of the Illogical series, the preceeding chapter to this one, Quickcheetah, and I have been in contact again, and we do plan on finishing this fic. If you don't remember the prequels- Illogical and my own Back to Terra and Rescue on Terra, I suggest you go and read them again, as well as the first chapters in this story, so you can more easily remember the details concerning the games and this story in particular.

To those of you who are reading for the first time the misadventures of Mega Man Legends fanfiction, otherwise known as this sequel to two series (or as Battle for Terra: The Elder War), welcome! I should suggest that you read Illogical by Quickcheetah and my 'Terra' prequels for this fic. The story of this sequel is pretty simple, really: People liked Quickcheetah's Illogical (especially myself!) so much that they wanted a sequel. Some liked my stories so much that they wouldn't stop bugging me for a sequel. So, we put our brains together and came up with this little series that would encompass the games and our own fanfiction stories.

To all who are reading this, thank you. I won't go into as much detail as chapter one obviously had, but basically I do need to point out a few things. We'll be going back to the american names for the Servitors (Gaatz and Geetz) rather than staying with the japanese versions. This is mostly to help alleviate any confusion that might arise from newer players...

Unfortunately, I don't think Dash!2000 is still around, and I have to say, Liz-sama, if you read this, give us an e-mail or a sign that you're still around! That site had very comprehensive material from the Mega Man Legends and Misadventures of Tron Bonne games, but I don't know if it still exists to this day. If anyone requires information from the series regarding Reaverbots or the main characters, just ask, and I'll include the requested information (if I can come up with it!) in the later chapters.

And now, without further ado... the continuation of Battle for Terra! 


	9. To the ruins!

KSSSHHHH!!!

The wall blocking the path to the Elder Ruins at Nino Island fell into rubble as the yellow-gold, dragonlike version of Geetz tore through it. That task done, the Servitor reestablished human form and walked though the barely-seven-foot doorway he had made, MegaMan following closely behind.

On the other side of the wall was a completely bare room, with no passageways whatsoever leading from it. There was not even a crack in the wall to indicate where any potential exits would be. A glance upward revealed a thick ceiling as bare of cracks as the walls. The floor below the two interlopers was equally blemish-free, although not quite as heavy-looking as the ceiling. The only strange thing the Digger could discern was the line of rust or corrosion of some sort at the baseline where the floor met the wall, which completely encircled the room.

"Um, Sera?" MegaMan inquired into his communicator. "Are you sure this is the place? It looks like a dead end to me."

"This is the correct destination," Sera confirmed. "The room you are in was once an elevator room, with the entire floor serving as the elevator platform. However, when the Elder System was shut down, the elevator mechanisms were removed to help prevent access to the control station, and the open shaft sealed off. The floor you see now is the seal, but these readings indicate that it is severely corroded and treacherous to walk upon. Proceed with extreme caution."

"Understood," came the duel reply, then MegaMan and Geetz started to make their way across the dangerous floor.

"How are we going to get through this without killing ourselves?" the former wondered aloud, before remembering who accompanied him. "Er, um, no offense or anything."

"None taken," the Servitor assured him. "And to answer your question, any attempt to break through should be done with extreme caution, as Mistress Sera said." He squinted at the floor, then continued,  
"According to the diagnostic readings this unit is picking up, the ideal area in which to break through is seven centimeters to the north, next to the wall. The floor in that location is relatively weak, whereas the surrounding surface is strong enough to withhold a striking blow in the adjacent area."

With this, Geetz started making his way carefully toward the aforementioned area, treading carefully.

"Be very careful," Sera's guardian warned. "The entire flooring in this room is severely weakened and very unstaaaAAAAGGGHHHH!!!"

At the instant he issued his warning, the floor beneath Geetz gave way with a deafening crash, and the Servitor unit plunged straight through, much to MegaMan's horror. A few seconds later, a loud SPLOOOSSHH! followed by splashing and coughing sounds rose up from the hole in the floor, which soon subsided. A bit apprehensibly, the young Digger crept up to the edge of the hole, and peered down into it.

The room below was about seven and a half feet high at most, and housed what seemed to be a vast lake. Along the edge of the lake was a two-foot wide strip of cement along the northern wall, upon which Geetz was hauling himself out of the water. Once on dry land-so to speak-the drenched Servitor unit turned to face the huge lake, apparently taking readings on it.

"Hey, you alright?" MegaMan called. "What do you see down there?"

"This unit is undamaged," Geetz reported. "It appears that this chamber is the first room in the Elder section of the ruins. Apparently it flooded when Terra's ocean levels rose dramatically. The chamber extends out of this unit's range of vision, making it at least five hundred and seventy-five square feet wide."

"Now that the barrier and the electronic sealings are down," Sera announced via the communicator, "I can pick up the ruins on this Spotting equipment easily. This room is, in fact, seven hundred feet long and six hundred feet wide. The entrance to the next chamber is directly ahead."

"Understood," MegaMan told her, then prepared to jump down the hole in the floor. Just as he was about to jump, however, a sudden inspiration struck him.

"Hey! Geetz!" the young Digger called down to his companion. "You remember when you first boarded the Flutter?"

"Yes, quite clearly," the Servitor barely had time to answer before he was thrown roughly to the floor courtesy of the weight that dropped down onto him. MegaMan stood triumphantly where he had landed on Jiji's back for a second or two, then stepped off and turned toward his victim.

"Ever hear of the phrase 'an eye for an eye'?" the young Digger mocked, then pulled his Rebreather out of one of the storage panels in his armor and began positioning it in his mouth, in case they would have to go underwater at some time.

"Are you able to swim?" Geetz asked, ignoring MegaMan's antics.

"Er...um, no," the other replied around the breathing device. "I never really learned. Besides, this armor's too heavy." 

"In that case, you might as well have stayed where you were," the Servitor sighed. He got up onto his hands and knees, and began to change once more into a Reaverbot dragon. "If you are unable to swim, then this unit will carry you across."

MegaMan hesitated, then clambered back onto the creature's back, and the two pushed off from the concrete shore, into the water. The rather generous volume of air within his body gave Geetz the necessary buoyancy, and he swam by folding his legs and wings against himself and wriggling his tail alligator-style. MegaMan, for his part, clung to the large spike that rose up from where the Servitor's shoulder blades would be in a human. In this way, the pair made their way through the oily, black water. Despite the echoing of the waves generated by their passing, the atmosphere felt thick and oppressive, and claustrophobia seemed to be pressing in on them. The silence was almost suffocating.

The teenaged Digger occupied the time by observing the dark waters around him. The dim lighting provided by the few working lamps that ruins seemed to have could barely penetrate below the surface of the lake, and subsequently revealed little of any interest...except for the occasional skittering shadow just below the surface. MegaMan warmed up his Buster Gun, preparing for an attack.

"Geetz, do you see those weird things in the water"  
he asked his companion.

"Yes," the golden Fiiru replied. "They are only fish." 

But MegaMan did not relax. His well-trained Digging instincts told him that there was danger nearby, and instinct never lies.

"Get ready for any trouble, anyway," the cyborg boy told his partner. 

"Weapons online and fully powered up," Geetz informed him, and not a moment too soon, because an instant later, a large school of shadowy shapes glided through the water towards them. MegaMan aimed his weapon as best he could at the dark shapes, but the lack of lighting and rippling of the water's surface distorted his perception of them.

One of the shapes leapt up abruptly, revealing itself to be a fish-shaped Reaverbot similar to those the Digger had encountered in the upper ruins last year,  
on his quest for the Keys. The vicious robot cleared the surface of the lake and lunged for MegaMan, jaws gaping hungrily. A couple of plasma shots dispatched of it quickly, but several others quickly imitated their predecessor, and the oily water churned with their thrashing. The young Digger aimed and fired as fast as he could, trying to hit as many as possible,  
but there were just too many!

At one point, one of the creatures latched onto his left arm, digging for the soft flesh under the armor. Icy with panic, MegaMan flailed the captured limb,  
yanked at the Reaverfish's tail as hard as he could,  
pried at its jaws, all to no avail. The little monster bit deeper, sending a wave of fiery pain down the boy's arm. He felt a warm trickle of blood beneath the metal shell coating his arm, then a grinding as the thing's teeth gnawed through the cybernetic components of his arm, to the bone beneath.  
Finally, as a last resort, the young cyborg started banging the little monster against the Fiiru's back as hard as he could. The Reaverfish thrashed hard at first against the blows, then the thrashes were reduced to twitches, and the twitches soon ceased altogether. By this time, the thing was no more than a twisted chunk of metal, which the young Digger quickly pried off.

Geetz, meanwhile, was having troubles of his own, as he was in the water along with the Reaverbot fish. They came from all directions, mostly from below, and were on him in a feeding frenzy, their small but powerful jaws clanging like demented bear traps in anticipation of the feast. But their meal would not be easily gotten; the Servitor unit put up a valiant struggle. Although his flame attack was useless underwater, the plasma cannons still worked, and he put those to good use. Whichever Reaverfish the plasma missed was either crushed in the powerful jaws,  
slashed with deadly talons, or swatted apart by the lashing tail of their would-be prey...until one got lucky. 

MegaMan saw the one robotic pirhana the gold dragon had missed swoop in for the kill. Its hungry jaws opened wide, then dug in deep into Geetz's flank near his left hip, ripping a good-sized chunk of metal plating away, then darted off. The Digger could feel the shudder of pain that spasmed through the Servitor's body, and saw the afflicted limb slacken,  
as though the mechanical devices beneath had been damaged as well.

"We've got to get out of here!" MegaMan called as he knelt down to inspect Geetz's wound. The hole in the plating was about an inch and a half wide and as long as the boy's hand, but very deep. Some kind of dark liquid was oozing out.

"Agreed," the Servitor unit replied. "Unfortunately,  
the damaged plating in this unit's leg is admitting too much water, and the extent of the damage is worsening."

"Try to go ahead and get going anyway," the ex-Purifier commanded, then carefully leaned over to place his hand over the gaping hole in Geetz's armor to prevent any further leakage. At the same time,  
MegaMan aimed his weapon at the remaining Reaverbot fish and blew them apart as best he could. 

"Understood," Geetz confirmed, and forged ahead once more. The going was rough; the Reaverfish thinned out only slightly, and MegaMan's kneeling posture made sighting difficult, which impeded his abilities. After a while, this position became painfully uncomfortable; his knees ached, his back hurt, his feet fell asleep, and his hand grew numb from being immersed in the freezing cold water. And the Reaverfish continued to swarm around them, trying their best to get more than a single bite out of the intruders.

MegaMan was so busy picking off the Reaverbot pirhanas from behind, he didn't see the last one leap up from the other side until he caught its shadow falling over him like a cloak. The young cyborg turned to meet this new threat a half-second too late. Beast and boy collided with the ringing of metal against metal, and both tumbled into the dark waters, where the Reaverfish's brothers were waiting. 

MegaMan hit the surface of the water hard enough to knock the wind out of him, as the once useful Rebreather device was dislodged from its proper position from the blow, and thrown back into his throat, blocking his airway about the same time the inky lake closed over his head. The young Digger fended off the subsequent panic attack just long enough to dispatch of the attacking Reaverfish, after which he flailed helplessly against his liquid prison.  
MegaMan clawed at his throat, instinctively trying to remove the Rebreather, even as his more rational side told him that even if he could reopen his airway, it would do no good against the surrounding waters.

The water around him wavered as Geetz submerged as well, in an attempt to retrieve his partner. The Servitor angled himself downward toward MegaMan, and dove after him. At first, he caught up, and for a moment, the Digger was sure that he would be saved. His hope evaporated painfully away when he tried to grab ahold of the dragon's body. The gold metal was slick with the surrounding water, and MegaMan's fingers slipped uselessly down the smooth surface. He felt the deep groove of the connection where two plates of metal armor connected, but he could not get his fingers deep enough inside. Then, the two were seperated once more, this time for good.

This can't be it,! MegaMan thought desperately. This can't be how I'm going to die! Not while I'm so young! Not when the world needs me most! Panic returned full force with these terrified thoughts, and he renewed his struggles. But, as he had told Geetz earlier, MegaMan's armor was far too heavy and not at all buoyant. He continued to sink, despite his best attempts to swim. The surface was growing impossibly far away. He could barely make out Geetz's sillouette, then the avian shape was gone, vanished like a fever dream. MegaMan's heart froze. Had Geetz abandoned him?

Nevertheless, the ex-Purifier reached out to the dwindling surface, pulled water aside with grasping hands, kicked furiously at the darkness, and swore never to give up, even as his limbs seemed to turn to lead, and his body grew unbearably heavy. His furtive kicks and struggles weakened, then stopped altogether.

The lake seemed bottomless. MegaMan felt as though he could fall forever in this weird slow motion, and never touch the floor of the chamber. He let his numbed body shed all its tension and go limp. His mind grew hazy and detached. If his vision had grown dark or cloudy as well, the sheer murkiness of the water allowed no indication. The young Digger's world had been reduced to pure blackness and a dull pressure against his chest; the burning pain of drowning had grown distant, leaving only a strange, empty feeling.

Death wasn't so bad after all.

Then...MegaMan was vaguely aware of something cold and hard as metal around his wrist...Geetz's claws had grabbed ahold of him at last...and he was being pulled up to the surface of the water, where he was dragged out onto some kind of concrete platform. Someone shook him violently by the shoulders and yelled in his face.

"MegaMan Trigger! Respond!" a voice shouted. It took MegaMan a while to recognize it as Geetz's. The Servitor had resumed human shape yet again, and was attempting to revive him as best he knew how. The hard vibrations caused the Rebreather to shift a bit,  
allowing the tiniest thread of air into the dying cyborg boy's lungs. Not much, but it was enough to clear some of the clouds out of his head, and bring him back to full consciousness. 

Gasping pathetically, MegaMan brought his hands to his throat, this time attempting to communicate what was happening. Geetz only stared, looking mildly confused.

"Trigger," he said. "That breathing device appears to be improperly installed."

Gee, ya think?! the Digger mentally responded. The lack of sufficient air prevented him from voicing this statement aloud, however.

"MegaMan Trigger, you realize that this situation is,  
essentially, your own fault," the Servitor continued,  
narrowing his eyes slightly in disgust. "If you had not become a Carbon, you would not be in your current situation. Therefore, you will receive no sympathy from me!"

With that, Geetz punched MegaMan in the stomach as hard as he could

Groaning, eyes nearly bulging in pain and disbelief,  
the young Digger doubled over miserably. That was when he realized that the Rebreather was no longer choking him. The device flopped out of his mouth and onto the ground with a clatter. Simply breathing had never been so satisfying, and the former Purifier gasped deeply, bringing sweet air into grateful lungs.  
He glanced up at his companion, disbelieving.

"Is that better?" Geetz asked.

"Yeah," MegaMan replied, still a little short of breath. "Thanks. And to show my appreciation for saving my life, I'm going to teach you the Heimliech manuever as soon as conveniently possible!" He started to get up. "Let's go!"

Once more, Geetz became the golden Reaverbot-although MegaMan noticed that the transformation took a little longer than usual-and the two of them set out once again for the next chamber.

Aboard the Drache hovering over Tonje Island, Roll leaned back in her seat and stretched as best she could while sitting down. The two solitary blips on her radar screen indicated that all was well in the ruins below, so the young Spotter decided to grab a quick snack out of the paper bag she had brought along. 

Roll had barely finished her sandwich before a warning alarm buzzed. Leaning forward quickly, she scanned the instruments for any approaching dangers. The alarm came from the outside sensors, and, according to the readout on the monitor, two very large Reaverbots were headed toward the Drache.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the tiny ship shuddered violently from a blow to the outer hull. Acting almost on reflexes, Roll grabbed the controls and fired all of the outer guns. Apparently the thing was out of range, because a second blow reverberated through the Drache, and the terrified girl saw the wall behind her rupture along the seams. A metal tentacle snaked through, the pointed tip searching along the equipment nearby. 

Roll slid her chair over to the ship's navigation panel, grabbed the steering column, and began to yank,  
shove, and twist it wildly in an attempt to shake her attacker off. No result. A second tentacle appeared through the crack in the wall. Her heart in her throat, the young Spotter reached over for the communicator to call for help...

Tron, Gatz, and the Servbots had been making excellent progress through the Elder ruins when Roll's frantic call came through their communicators.

"Tron! Gatz! I need help!" she cried. "There's a Reaverbot attacking the Drache! Hurry!"

As much as she despised Roll, Tron could not let her die that way. MegaMan would never forgive her. She turned the Gustav around, and headed back for the entrance. Once outside, however, she ran into a new problem: the Drache was at least ten feet up, and the Gustav, wonderful mech though it was, could not fly. 

"Miss Bonne, abandon your mecha and climb onto this unit's back," Gatz ordered. "It will carry you up to where Miss Caskett is."

"What about my Servbots?" Tron asked worriedly. 

"They are lightweight, so they may come along as well.  
Besides, we may require their assistance."

Tron hesitated, then did as she was told. Once she and the Servbots were aboard, Gatz jumped into the air and flew toward the Drache. As they arrived, the pirate girl gave an involuntary gasp at the thing that was attached to the small ship.

The Reaverbot seemed to be made of nothing but tentacles, with no apparent central body. Red-lensed eyes gleamed on the ends of some of the longer tendrils, and more than a few were buried in the Drache's hull.

"Okay, boys!" Tron declared to her Servbots. "You know what to do!" She fired the Beacon Bomb she had grabbed from the Gustav at the tentacle-Reaverbot. The tiny robots crawled rather reluctantly from behind her and attacked, unable to resist the Beacon Bomb's orders. They leapt onto the beast, shrieking their war cries of "Ya! Ya!", and started yanking at the many tendrils as hard as they could. Meanwhile, Gatz flitted over to the other side, and scorched the remaining limbs. The robotic octopus howled in pain,  
and reached for its attackers with the tentacles that were not buried in the Drache's hull. Gatz's superb flying skills and the Servbots' tiny size made the effort fruitless. 

Tron fired the Beacon Bombs again and again, while Gatz swooped and dove, firing at the monster with everything he had. All efforts came to a stop when a thin, shrieking noise arose from the Drache: the sound of metal being torn. For a moment, all was still. Then, with a loud clatter, the ship disintegrated,  
spilling Spotting equipment, emergency supplies, and Roll to the ground below.

"C'mon!" Tron ordered, and pushed down on the stabilizing spike on Gatz's back to steer him into a dive. He obediently dove toward the flailing Spotter,  
claws outstretched to catch her, and his passenger tightened her grip on the stabilizer in anticipation...then was suddenly yanked from his back by the Reaverbot octopus, which also tumbled to Terra beside them. Gatz had no time to retrieve her,  
though. Roll was in much greater danger, and therefore took precedence.

The Servitor unit edged closer to his target, then straightened out horizontally in midair, just beneath Roll. The plan worked. Gatz felt a sharp jolt to his back as the carbon girl barely cleared the stabilizer and landed safely upon him. He sighed in relief, then settled gently to the ground, next to where the Reaver-octopus and Tron were, and scurried over to them while Roll jumped off and ran alongside him.

The Reaverbot of many tentacles lay writhing on the ground, clutching its prey by the throat. Tron,  
meanwhile, was kicking and clawing at the thing around her neck with every ounce of strength she had, but her struggles were growing feeble.

Gatz wasted no time in rushing up to the struggle and joining in. Supporting himself on his wings, the Servitor lashed out with rapier-sharp talons, severing multiple tentacles with a single blow. The Reaver-octopus twitched in pain from the blows, then reached out with whatever tendrils it could spare to try and deal with this new threat. Gatz dealt with these quickly and efficiently.

Roll, meanwhile, used Gatz's distraction to creep in close to where Tron was. The pirate girl was not doing well; her struggles had nearly stopped, and her eyelids drooped halfway shut. The constriction around her neck prevented her from swallowing, so bits of foam coalceased around alarmingly blue lips. Panicked, Roll grabbed some of the tentacles and yanked. Her adrenaline-flooded muscles strained surprisingly effectively against the Reaverbot's limbs. The fact that Gatz was weakening it helped also. 

After nearly ten minutes of tug-of-war, the Reaver-octopus finally gave up. Too weak to hold on any longer, its tentacles lost their tension enough for Roll to pull Tron free and drag her to safety. Gatz, meanwhile, finished off the beast, then turned to where the girls where.

Tron lay eerily still in Roll's arms, her eyes glazed over. Her face was a terrible shade of ashen blue. The Servbots crowded around, yanking Tron's limp arms and shouting her name, and the young Spotter could see the tears forming in their large, black eyes. Not even the barest whisper of breath escaped the pirate girl's lips. 

Roll started to panic. True, she didn't care much for Tron, but she still couldn't handle the idea of watching someone die in her arms. She laid the lifeless girl on the ground, and started shaking her,  
wishing that she could remember anything about CPR.

Gatz, in humanoid form once more, approached, and watched Roll struggle for a few minutes. Then he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Allow me," he offered. Roll nodded miserably, and backed away. The Servitor went over and knelt over Tron's lifeless body. While the Spotter watched, he drew a deep breath of air, bent down, and breathed into Tron's open mouth, her chest rising accordingly. He straightened, and she exhaled, but that was all that happened.

Twice, three times, four times more Gatz attempted revive Tron without luck. On the fifth time, the pirate girl coughed violently, spasmed, and opened her eyes.

"I just had the most wonderful dream," she murmured excitedly. "I dreamt that I was sitting on the beach with MegaMan, and he kissed me! On the lips! Five times!" Meanwhile, Gatz looked uncomfortably at his shoes, while the Servbots figdeted and mumbled, as though wanting to say something.

"Better not tell her," Roll told them. "She might have a nervous breakdown." A bit louder, she declared, "Well, with the Drache destroyed, it looks like I'm coming with you guys after all. Hang on while I get my Spotting equipment. I think it survived the attack..." She hurried off toward the remains of the tiny ship.

"Oh, hooray!" Tron grumbled sarcastically as she got to her feet. "The ditz is coming with. She'll have to ride on you, Googoo, 'cause she sure as heck isn't riding in the Gustav with me!"

"Understood," Gatz replied.

After a few minutes, Roll returned, stating, "C'mon! Let's get going!" And so they headed back into the ruins.

---

"Wait a sec! Shala-kun ruins is actually Nakkai Ruins?!" came the high pitch sound of Teasel's voice. The green-armor clad pirate was just about in shock as he heard this- the Nakkai ruins was the same place that he'd managed to get to before the whole problem with Glyde and Loathe had happened. Bon was floating closeby, once more in his large 'powered-armor' form, as the 'young' woman before them nodded. He still hated the fact that the map he had paid so much for had been almost worthless in the long run (it cost so much!), but at least he and Bon still knew the way to the Ruins. 

Indeed, it was strange that Teasel even knew about the ruins in the first place. It was hidden pretty deep in the desert, but according to the information that the pirate had given her, their largest obstacle could well be dealt with before they had a chance to face it. There were few records of reaverbots that came from the earliest days of the systems being set into place- several reaverbots, however, were known to this once Mother-unit. The first, of course, was the 'Guardian'-class reaverbot. Those were able to continue protecting the area that they were assigned with even several limbs missing. Those were often the weakest of the bunch, however. Another of the 'elder'-class reaverbots included the Oyazan-class, basically a reaverbot that controlled remote units to attack its targets.

The largest, however, was the Colossus-class. It was at least 20 stories tall and required many refractors to work at full strength. According to Teasel, their little Servbots had managed to put the only Colossus that had been known to exist (several others had been built, but only one had begun to activate since the Elder system activation sequence had begun) out of commission. The Colossus-class were too large to be fully activated, and none now could escape the confines of the ruins thanks to the layouts of them and the work of the purifier units that had fought the Elder system's activation. It was good that it had been destroyed- Yuna's little hand blaster, probably gave the biggest kick when it came to firepower, and she wasn't even the one going on the dig!

"Yes, that is correct. Shala-kun was the old name for those ruins. Thank you for telling me that the Colossus is gone now, it makes everything considerably easier." she replied, as the two Bonnes looked up at the marble-like opening to the ruins themselves. "Once inside the ruins, look to the west. There will be a wall, but according to my data, there should actually be a control panel about 2 meters beyond it." she told them now. There was a reason that Teasel had taken only a few things with him into the ruin... A pick-axe was one of those things. He also had one of Trigger's weapons, a buster cannon, that had been modified at the last minute by Roll for his use.

Yuna thought about Roll for a moment as she heard some loud clanking and ringing- the Bonnes had started work on the wall itself now. Roll was this Carbon's daughter- it was obvious, from what Barrel and Roll said, and the fact that the two looked very similar. But, when it came time... could Yuna leave this body and give Roll's mother back to her? No mother unit had taken a carbon's body for safe-keeping for such a long time before. Why had she not given Roll's mother back at the earliest possible opportunity?

There was no simple answer for her. How could she have stayed in this body for so many years? Her nano-machines that she controlled kept the carbon's body fit, kept it from aging. That was why the woman's body that the mother unit inhabited remained the same age as when she had found her. That was why all the diggers, all the explorers, that had come to the forbidden island had not aged at all- the same basic process had kept them alive and well. Matilda, on the other hand... she had been near death. The damage had been so extensive that it was unlikely that such basic procedure could have saved her.

So, the mother unit did what she had to do, in order to save the woman's life. Her consciousness transferred to Matilda's mind. Yuna's superior mental processes overtook Matilda's wounded mental processes, and the nanites that lived within Yuna's own body were shared with Matilda's. The entire procedure was not without its own discomforts, and even Yuna felt pain for perhaps the first time. But the bio-merge was complete after several hours, and the mother unit was in control of the carbon's body. And has been, ever since.

"Hey, lady! Do ya think that this 'ere powered buster could break through the wall? Seems kinda familiar... I think that blue boy used it to blast me once or twice. Whatcha say?" came Teasel's voice over the radio. Yuna couldn't help but to shake her head. Probability chance of using the buster cannon to break through the wall was at 60, almost 100 if he fired twice. But there were several problems with that, the most concerning one dealing with the fact that if he fired even once, there was an 87 chance of destroying the control panel that they needed to use!

"Do you want to dig down past the deepest part of the ruin, Teasel? Because if you wish to do it, you may, but our schedule must be kept. Chances are that if you use the Buster Cannon on the wall, you'll take out the control panel we will need to use so you can access the control room for this ruin." she informed him, and she heard a rather large clang, and then the sound of rocks and metal tumbling down onto the floor. She smiled a little- she hadn't heard the cannon go off, but obviously Bon must have crashed through the wall.

Then there was quite a bit of coughing from Teasel as she heard the now-familiar "ba... buuuu..." from the man's little brother. Now, he was unusual- why was their little brother capable of running a robotic suit, and yet could only speak in baby talk? Perhaps some carbons in this world just weren't worth the effort to try and understand- hopefully, Sera wouldn't realize that yet. She was still getting used to being around Betas, afterall. "Darn it, Bon, next time warn me before you decide to ram a wall like that!" Teasel yelled, and Yuna had to smile, barely restaining herself from laughing at the predicament that the older Bonne had been put into.

---

"Ya know, this would be a lot easier if Tron managed to make another Gustaff for me to pilot. As it is, you're the one with the armor and firepower, Bon. It's almost as if I'm just along for the ride." Teasel said to his little brother. He went from his normal standing position to being slouched over as he said this, and his long white hair just fell down alongside his face. But he wasn't one to be kept down for long- the eldest Bonne had a family to provide for, after all, and just because he was now as dusty as the desert that they had just walked out of was no reason for him to stay depressed. There was the control panel, right where Yuna said it should have been!

"Baba-babu! Bababu-buba!" Bon said, and Teasel nodded, grinning in reply. "That's right, for once we have some luck coming our way! Who knows, maybe this'll be as simple as that blonde lady says it will be." he replied. Stepping up to the control panel, he pushed the green button- it was always the green button that worked. Elder system, master system, or current system, it didn't matter. The green button always allowed the person who pressed it to do what needed to be done. "And, here we go!" he exclaimed. Teasel didn't wait for the spotter to say whether or not that was the right choice.

And for once, it was the right choice. Unlike his choice for things to sell in his store, unlike his choice to have borrowed money from the Loathes. The green button was always the same thing, and in this case, the two were enveloped by a bright light that immediately took them from where they had been standing and into some other room. This room... had very bad air inside of it. It was stale! Not fresh in the least, and Teasel had to put on an air filter as he looked about the room. Behind him was a large set of controls with a big screen behind it- something to watch either a lot of television on, or to control the destruction of the world, he considered, and then shrugged. "Hey, Yuna! We're here, so what's next?" he asked into the communicator.

It took a moment for the faint reply to be received. Obviously, they were pretty far underground, as Teasel had expected. He remembered using the giant Marlwolf to try and dig his way to the ruins underneath Kattelox Island- well, he digged and he digged, but he remembered getting nowhere near the bottom! "Go to the display, and type in what I tell you to, Teasel." her voice came in, somewhat subdued. At least she wasn't giving him an attitude anymore, he thought to himself, and Teasel grinned as he walked over to the control panel.

"Bon, keep an eye out. We don't want any reaverbots to crash our little party." he told his yougner brother, and the youngest Bon nodded before turning to face down the door that was in the back of the room. Yuna started talking again, and Teasel began typing on the panel. Whatever they were doing, it would take a while, and Bon started walking back and forth to keep himself entertained. Too bad that didn't last long- Bon wasn't the type to jsut sit idly by without reason, and just being here wasn't reason enough. Then he saw something flash, over in the corner. 

"Ba... buuu?" he mumbled to himself. Bon walked over slowly, his oversized arms reaching almost to the floor as he came to what he saw. It was some sort of capsule with something in it that glowed softly, as if it was possibly a beacon of some sort. The light reminded Bon of his nightlight back in the Gesellschaft II, actually, and the Bonne smiled inside his suit as he picked it up carefully. He took it towards his brother, the rather large capsule just a bit shorter than his older brother was. Whatever was inside was shorter than Teasel, but was other than that, shaped like a human was. The capsule was large enough to be able to fit a human within. 

"...Deactivate." Yuna said, and Teasel typed in the last command. The panel glowed and the display came to life- the elder system deactivation code had been set in place. The shield was down, rom this location at least, and Teasel let out a sigh as he watched the dematerialization of the third-level security barrier for the Main Gate. "That should do it, Teasel. Good job." she told him, and then the communication was cut out. The elder Bonne turned around to face Bon, and then jumped back in surprise, nearly landing on the control panel as he saw how close his brother was to him, and at the sight of what was in his arms.

"Wh... wha... what is that, Bon? What do you have there?" he asked, the eldest Bonne brother's heart slowly returning to its normal, steady rate. His voice had alternated in the normal way- from high to low octaves, of course. Bon slowly turned the capsule for Teasel to see, and gave his brother a smile. There was a person inside of the capsule! In fact, the person inside of the capsule had the same skin tone as Sera had, as Jiji and Gaga had. Strange... an ancient, here? "Ah.. Yuna? We're coming back now, and Bon found someone I think you should take a look at." Teasel said, and then both were gone from the room. The lights shut down again, and the room itself was now completely dark.

An hour later ---

"I have never seen this model before... but, I believe that this is a Servitor. Of sorts." Yuna said. The two Bonnes had brought the capsule with them back to the ship that they were using for the moment, and Bon was piloting them back towards the Flutter's position. Yuna stood over the capsule, her hand pressed against the port opening where it looked like a pair of cables or pipes may have once fit into the machine. "Very strange... this is a type of machine, but not a reaverbot, and not exactly something of the Master's System, either." she said aloud, more to herself than to Teasel actually.

"So... is he an enemy, or a threat of some kind, or not?" Teasel asked. He'd been watching and listening to Yuna's diagnostic, a running dialogue really. The boy inside the capsule actually looked kind of familiar- he couldn't place why, though. It was one of those things that he just couldn't put his finger on yet. Then he formed a fist with his right hand and lightly hit his left palm as he remembered who this kid looked like. A smile spread on the pirate's face- it was a kid that he and his family had met after the trouble on Kattelox, actually, but before the expedition to the Forbidden Island. "Funny, he looks like Rick, for some reason. Doesn't he, Bon?" he called out, and there was an affirmative 'Babu!' from his younger brother.

"This model looks like someone you have met before? How peculiar." Yuna remarked, glancing up to Teasel for a moment. Surely, it was some sort of coincidence. Her own memories and knowledge of the Elder System might be greater than any other unit's still in existence today, but they were still rather miniscule. "This is a hybrid... I am finally able to access some of the files that are in this unit's memory banks now. Give me just a moment, please." she said, and her eyes closed. Behind her eyelids flew binary code as she accessed the few files that were not heavily encrypted in the ancient languages of the world. Then her voice sounded, without feeling, as if she were just reading off things as they came to her mind.

"Caretaker Unit, class alpha, section 00001. No designation. Prototype unit of main system, creation date unknown. Data class is alpha. Time last active was nearly 2,000 years ago. Description of last activity: Self Defense. Description of first activity: unknown." Yuna said aloud. Teasel just sat back and watched as the blonde woman continued to speak, wondering just what she was trying to find out from whatever it was in the capsule. The... 'thing' looked a lot like one of their old friends, though to tell the truth, Rick had been more of a pain than anything else after their problem with Mega Man back on Kattelox. They had not been able to save the boy after Glyde had located their secret base- the boy had been badly hurt by the attack, while attempting to save Tron and their family from the maniacal blonde man with the obsession with birds.

He'd slipped into a coma since then, and to tell the truth, with all that had been going on as of late, none of the Bonne family had had the chance to check on the boy's condition in almost a year. He felt bad about it- he'd treated the boy badly for a long time, even after the kid had helped to reform their ships and fighting machines. But now wasn't the time. After this Elder system problem was dealt with, he'd take the family down to the hospital that they had taken the boy to and check on him. Who knows? Maybe he was awake and out of the coma by now.

"Whew... that's all. Not a whole lot of information on him. He's too badly damaged to be awakened." Yuna said, her eyes open and the emotions now evident in her voice once more. "A rather unusual unit... seems to have been a unit built before the individual classifications of a purifier and servitor. I wonder if he has a Fiiru mode as well, like Gaga?" she said, smiling a little. The blonde lady was getting a little close to the kid in the capsule, Teasel thought to himself, and he shook his head slowly. None of his concern, after all. With a sigh, he stood up and stretched slowly, giving a small yawn. 

"Well, I'm gonna go and take a nap. I hope the others have had as easy a time getting to their control rooms as we had!" he said, and then the eldes Bonne walked to the back of the ship to settled down on his back. His eyes closed, and soon he was asleep. His characteristic snoring was softened and dulled by the sound of the engines nearby, thankfully. Yuna shook her head slowly. The others had the more difficult ruins to deal with- they had to deal with still active guardians. Yuna had landed this particular ruin to deal with as a result of the lack of firepower and versatility on this portion of the team. If that Colossus-class reaverbot had been reactivated, it would have been nearly impossible to have defeated it without Trigger and the Servitors to deal with it. How Tron's Servbots had managed it, she would need to find out. Perhaps there might be some sort of plan that could be made to deal with the Elder System guardians if there was a chance to analyze their battle plans.

Yuna considered the Caretaker unit again. Perhaps it would be beneficial to repair the unit? Indeed, it was likely a remnant of the Elder system, but perhaps it could be repaired and upgraded to follow the Master's System instead? It had worked on a few reaverbot models, most notably the Guardian series. She would need to discuss this with Sera. Perhaps Tron and Roll could repair it? It was possible, both were rather mechanically inclined, for humans. It would be a lengthy process, either way, but it could be done.

---

The Caretaker unit, class alpha, remained in stasis mode. It had been in this mode for thousands of years, and had no way to repair the damage that it had sustained when last it had been activated. It managed to defeat its opponents and keep the control system room from being infiltrated, but the alarm that had gone off in its system when the room had been accessed not too long ago had been unable to wake it. The damage had become extensive, and its abilities deteriorated due to the passage of time itself. Systems were beginning to fail. The mind of the unit realized, vaguely, that it had been accessed shortly afterwards, but could do nothing to prevent the access by the superior control of whatever unit had entered its memory files.

The Caretaker slept still, unable to move. Unable to see, hear, or notice much, save through direct physical means. Would it ever be activated again? There were things that the Caretaker needed to do... was programmed to live for. But no, the damage continued to spread, slowly but surely, throughout its systems. It was unlikely that even this stasis would keep it sustained for another century. it knew, but still it could not do anything but remain in this mode until roused from it by some superior unit's command.

And so, the softly pulsing light continued to glow from the jewel that adorned its chestplate. Wiring and exposed vital areas showed from all across the unit's body. Its back was in even worse shape, though none in the small ship could know. The caretaker, oblivious to all of the rest of the world save for what little data it could obtain from within the capsule, slept on, unknowing and uncaring as to the events that might destroy, or shape, the future of Terra.

---

Author's Note (MacrossGreen): I'm so sorry! I cannot apologize enough about the length of time that has gone by since the last time I updated this series! I've been extremely busy as of late, and though in the past few months I have been back, I have been working on other fics.

Tron: Yeah, like the ones dealing with Advance Wars, Fire Emblem... and even Pokemon! I thought you said you'd never write a fic on that game!

MacrossGreen: Shut UP, Tron. I needed to do something simple to get back into writing, and Pokemon was that. Then I did a series and two one-shots for Fire Emblem, and I've started a series for Advance Wars. I needed to play MML 2 again to get back into the swing of things for a MML fic. Back off! Or do I need to revoke your Trigger torturing rights for a few years, hm?

To the ones who have waited these past two years for an update, I apologize. To those joining this series already in progress, welcome to the world created by capcom and extended by Quickcheetah and myself! We don't own Mega Man Legends or anything along those lines- we're just borrowing the world, the characters, the items, and the dancing monkey for use in the fic. Deal with it. Please review! 


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